Marvel Close
by Nightcrawler's Shadow
Summary: Look into the lives of Kurt, Kitty, Evan and Rogue, without their powers. really crappy summary Alternate Universe! Major Kurtty. Loro, Romy. Cover Image by: Fireshifter
1. New Kid on the Block

Disclaimer: Nope.

Summary: Welcome to Marvel Close, where life is good and easy, if you aren't Kurt, Kitty, Evan or Marie that is.

Feel free to have a look into the lives of the X Men, and the Brotherhood, without their powers.

A/N: Finally, I have it up!

In this story, no one has powers, but they have abilities that are hints of their powers.

The character bios are as follows:

Kurt Darkholme

Age: 16

Kurt is the most flexible person in the entire school and was the star gymnast at his old school.

He is well known for his practical jokes, high energy, optimism and love of acrobatics.

Kurt has long since come to think his mother doesn't want him in her life and acts like a 'robot' when he is around her. Their relationship is almost nonexistent.

Raven Darkholme

Age: 38

Raven is a single mother and has gone through much in her life. She has distanced herself from her son in an attempt to try and keep herself from getting hurt. She does love her son though.

Katherine "Kitty" Howlett

Age: 15

The youngest in the Howlett family, Kitty is sweet, shy, and a straight A student.

She is well known for her love of dance and music.

She cannot use a computer to save her life, and that is the only class she does not get perfect grades in besides gym.

Marie "Rogue" Howlett

Age: 16

Marie is the oldest of the Howlett children and as much as her sister wears bright colors, she wears dark ones. The girls are polar opposites, and best friends. Marie is well known for her love of Gothic garb and music and loves Drama.

James "Logan" Howlett

Age: 40

Before Logan met Ororo his life consisted of cage fighting and traveling across Canada. He had met Ororo several years ago, but the two had lost touch until they ran into each other in Halifax. They married several years later and had Marie and Kitty. Logan is currently the owner of a motorcycle and auto repair shop and is well known for his gruff nature and incredible protectiveness of his family.

Ororo Howlett

Age: 38

Ororo is a lover of nature and teaches environmental science at the college. She is a family woman and loves not only her husband and daughters, but her sister and nephew. Ororo is well known for her prize winning garden, peace treaties in Africa, and her strength of character.

Evan Monroe

Age: 16

Evan is Ororo and Logan's nephew and Marie and Kitty's cousin. He would prefer to be on a skateboard all day than in a classroom, but his grades are decent and his one true love is sports. He's good friends with his cousins and thinks of them as his sisters, which they might as well be seeing as he spends most of his time at the Howlett home.

Enjoy!

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Chapter 1: New Kid on the Block

"_Marie...Marie...Marie, you will buy Evan a milkshake_..." "_And you will buy Kitty a new pair of shoes_..." "And you are both dead!" Evan and Kitty laughed as they jumped away from where they'd been whispering in the, previously, asleep Marie's ear.

"Get back here!" the Goth chased after her cousin and younger sister as they ran from her room.

The three teens proceeded to run down the stairs and through the kitchen where Logan merely stepped out of their way and kissed his wife's cheek, without missing a beat. Ororo lifted the frying pan she'd been cooking in as she walked over to the table, letting the kids run under her outstretched arms on their way to the backyard.

"Remind me again why we had three?" Logan asked.

"Because I wanted a big family and one of them is our nephew."

"Ah, right…How is your sister anyway?" Ororo smiled, "Good, the whole legal mess with the divorce was hard on her and she was glad we've been able to keep an eye on Evan."

"Kid's family, besides, they all get along."

In contrary to Logan's statement, Rogue tackled Evan as her sister had been able to slip from her grasp.

"Gotcha!"

"Hey guys, check it out, looks like someone's moving in." Evan and Marie stood and looked over where Kitty pointed.

Sure enough, there was a moving truck parked outside the house down the street and the front door was open to allow the men to take the furniture and boxes inside.

"Wonder if there are any kids our age in the family?" Evan questioned and as if to answer the questioned, a black car pulled up and a strict looking woman in a gray skirt suit stepped out to go over and begin ordering around the movers.

Meanwhile, a teenage boy with chin length blue black hair, and pale skin got out as well.

"Guess that answers that question." Kitty laughed.

"Why don't you kids go great our new neighbours?" Ororo stuck her head out the screen door. "Thanks Mom, but I think I'll get dressed first." Marie brushed past her mother with a smile and headed back upstairs.

"Evan, Kitty?" "Sure Aunty O!" Evan chimed and took Kitty's wrist and proceeded to drag her over.

"Um, Evan, I'm not so sure, I mean..." "Relax Kit-Kat, the guy looks fine." Kitty took another look, the boy did look harmless. He was wearing a dark green button up t-shirt and a pair of tan slacks, not what you would call scary. "Well, I guess..." Evan grinned and pulled his less resisting cousin down the street.

The dark haired boy left the front yard and went around to the back of the house and Evan went around as well, Kitty in tow, following him. When they reached the backyard, a surprising sight met their eyes. The boy was balancing on one hand, upside down, and showed no sign of falling over.

"Hey!" Evan greeted and the boy twisted his neck to see to the side. "Uh, hi." He pushed off his hand and landed on his feet, dusting off his hands.

Evan walked over, "I'm Evan, this is my cousin Kitty, we both live down the street." He said as way of explanation. "We came to say hi and welcome you to the neighbourhood." Kitty added.

The boy grinned, "Alright then. I'm Kurt; it's nice to meet you." He shook hands with Evan.

"So did you and your folks move from a different part of town, or from a different city?" Kurt smiled, "It's just my mom, and we moved here from San Francisco." "Wow, that's all the way across the country." Kurt laughed, "Tell me about it. So you guys live down the street?"

"Yep, my aunt's her mom, and I actually live right across the street from you, they live a couple houses over." "Uh, whose they?"

Evan laughed, "Oops right, Kit's older sister, Marie." Kurt nodded, "Who would be right here." Marie came around the side of the house and Kurt did a double take, looking from her to Kitty and back again before shaking his head ~_I should've learned to expect that siblings can be exact opposites by now. ~_.

"So you're the new guy, I'm Marie." She held her hand out and he grinned before shaking it, "Kurt, nice to meet you."

"That's a different name." He shrugged, "Born in Germany." Kitty looked interested, "Seriously?" he nodded, "That's so cool." He blushed a bit, looking embarrassed.

"Hey, our Mom wanted me to invite you over and your mom too if she wants." "Uh..." Kurt looked towards the house and as if that were a cue, there was a flurry of yelling that was so loud and high pitched that the teens winced.

"She's not really a people person, but I'd be glad to accept the offer." He grinned. "Great! There's nowhere near enough guys around here." Evan exclaimed as Kurt followed the cousins back to the Howlett house in time to find Logan leaving.

"Uncle Logan, this is Kurt." Evan introduced him and Kurt, strangely undaunted by the gruff looking man, held out his hand in greeting.

Logan smirked, "Nice ta meet ya." Kurt grinned, "You too." Logan nodded and grinned before jumping into his truck and heading to work.

"Hey Mom, where are you?!" Marie called as they stepped into the house.

Kurt looked around, taking in the few decorative pieces from Africa, the family pictures and incredible welcoming feel of the entire house.

"Kitchen!" Ororo called back and the quartet entered to see her cleaning up from breakfast. She turned and smiled when she saw Kurt. "Hello." He grinned and Kitty was amazed by how at ease he was. "This is Kurt." Marie introduced him this time, "I'm Ororo, or Mrs. Howlett, whichever you prefer." She shook his hand. "Nice to meet you Mrs. Howlett." She smiled. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have lilies in the backyard that aren't going to water themselves." "See ya Mom."

"So, Kurt, what did you used to do in San Francisco?" Marie questioned. "Uh," he chuckled a bit, "Nothing normal." He grinned nervously.

"Like that hand stand thing you were doing in your backyard?" Kitty finally asked a question. "Yeah, I was on the gymnastics team at my old school."

"Sweet, I prefer skateboarding myself, but basketball's a close second." Evan supplied. "Kitty's our dancing queen, and I prefer acting over sports."Marie finished.

The teens moved out to the front lawn where they proceeded to relax underneath the tall, thick branched tree that grew there. Kurt grinned and took a leap, grabbing onto one of the lower branches and swinging himself up, before hanging upside down from it.

"You can't stay right side up for more than few minutes can you?" Marie questioned as she settled herself against the trunk. "Not really." Was the reply and the three laughed.

"What school are you going to go to?" Evan questioned. "Xavier's Institute."

"Sweet, that's where we go too!" Kitty smiled at the boy and Kurt grinned back.

"You _have_ to try out for the gymnastics team, they haven't won in years. You know, you actually seem to have more talent than the rest of the team combined, you could be their saving grace." Kurt shrugged, or at least, that's what it looked like. "Maybe..."

The four stayed outside for most of the morning, until the black haired woman, who'd they'd taken to be Kurt's mom, came over, looking even more strict up close.

"Kurt, get down form that tree and come home. You need to help me unpack." Kurt's previous relaxed grin left and he sighed, dropping from the tree and flipping to land in a crouch. "I'll be right over, Mom." She nodded and strode away. He gave his new friends an apologetic grin. "I better go."

"We'll see you tomorrow man, there's no way you're getting rid of us that easy." Evan smirked and Kurt relaxed. "Wouldn't think of it Evan. See you guys later." He waved and ran down the street to disappear into his house.

"Well that woman _certainly_ has a stick up her-"

"Marie!"

"Sorry..."

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Kurt grunted as he picked up a stack of boxes that had come from his room in the apartment in San Francisco.

"Is that the last of them?"

Kurt sighed, "Yeah Mom."

"Good, I'm going out, I'll be back later." Kurt mouthed the words along with her as she left, he'd heard the so many times, he could repeat them, backwards, in gibberish, in German and in any order you wished _while_ keeping up his impression of his mom.

"Thank God." He exclaimed as he set the boxes down. "Typical I leave the books for last, who knew paper could weigh so much."

He sighed and fell back in his bed, which consisted mainly of the frame and the mattress.

"Might as well start now." He said to himself and started digging through the boxes. He grinned when he found his stereo and plugged it in, putting a Simple Plan CD and blasting it, he got to work unpacking his room.

He had just finished unpacking his clothes when the doorbell rang.

A confused expression on his face he turned down his music until it was almost completely mute and trudged down the stairs. He opened the door to reveal Evan, his hands in his pockets and wearing a gray hoodie, it was only then that he noticed it'd gotten dark.

"Hey."

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Kurt was torn between laughing and being completely silent because of shock. He stepped aside to let his friend enter.

"Well, I'm bored, it's summer, you can only hang out with your female cousins for so long before you go insane and I've moved before and I know how much of a pain unpacking is so I thought I'd come over and give my friend my company and some assistance." Kurt grinned, "And I will _happily_ accept your offer."

Evan smirked, "Good, 'cause ether way you're stuck with me." The dark haired boy laughed and led his friend upstairs to his room which looked like a tornado had hit it.

Evan grinned again, "Your room's cleaner than mine." Kurt gave him an amazed look and laughed again.

"So, what do want me to do?" Kurt looked around and noticed the boxes of books in front of his bookshelf. "Well, you could start shelving those books; I've got a million of them so it'll probably take you a while." Evan grinned then noticed the music coming from Kurt's stereo. "Simple Plan?" Kurt looked up from where he was digging through even more boxes. "Uh yeah, if you don't like them you can take a look through the rest of my CDs." He pointed to another box but Evan shook his head and turned up the music, still low enough for them to hear each other over. "Are you kidding, I love them." Kurt grinned and the boy went to work Evan occasionally asking Kurt questions and vice versa.

"So where's your mom?"

"No idea."

Evan gave him a surprised look, "I don't follow you."

"Well, when I told you she wasn't really a people person, I meant that in all ways, including she isn't a mothering person." He went back to organizing CDs.

"Oh, sorry."

"No problem, to be honest I'm actually relieved, I hate spending time with my mom. The drive here from JFK: pure torture." Evan chuckled and the uncomfortable atmosphere lifted. It was only when they noticed that it was 11 o'clock in the evening that they decided to call it a day and Evan headed home.

"Hey, thanks for the help Evan." He shrugged, "What are friends for?" Kurt grinned and shook his head before locking all the doors and windows and jumping into a quick shower before he fell into his newly made bed, his room still filled with boxes and miscellaneous junk, but tidier than before.

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When Kitty woke up, it was to absolute silence. ~_Must be one of those days where I wake up early. ~_

With a sigh she got up and, with practiced stealth, manoeuvred around her room to get dressed in a pair of light wash jeans, a white t-shirt underneath a pink hoodie and a pair of runners. She pulled her hair into a ponytail as she made her way downstairs.

~_What to do, what to do? _~

She checked the clock and did some quick math before realizing that it was a possibility that _one_ person might be awake. She bit her lip before deciding to take a chance. She wrote a note and left it on the table before grabbing her house key and leaving through the front door which didn't creak as much as the front.

With her hands in her pockets she strolled down the sidewalk towards the newly moved in house.

Kitty could feel her stomach tossing with nerves she was, by nature, not the most outspoken out there person in the world. She was about to knock on Kurt's front door when she heard a soft thump come from the backyard. She had a slight idea of what was going on and her guesses were proven correct when she walked through the back fence to find Kurt in a pair of loose black pants and a tighter white t-shirt, doing a series of flips and manoeuvres that she hadn't thought humanly possible.

"Kurt?" she spoke up and he landed and turned to her. She was relieved when he smiled and it also brought to light that she hoped to have that smile directed at her more.

"Kitty! To what do I owe the honour of your presence here this morning?" he came over and she shrugged, feeling a bit more at ease. "I woke up early and came to see if you were up. My family's grumpy in the morning."

He chuckled. "Well in that case, you want to come inside for hot chocolate or something; I promise I'm not some kind of creeper." She giggled, "Sure, why not?" he grinned and she followed him inside.

"Do we have to worry about waking up your mom?" he shook his head. "Nope, she left for work a couple hours ago. So what do you prefer, hot chocolate or tea, 'cause I _still_ need to get groceries." She smiled, "Hot chocolate's great." They chatted a little bit as Kurt prepared their drinks and Kitty was surprised at how easy it was to talk to him.

"Okay, I have a question, but you don't have to answer it." He nodded, "Alright."

"Well, I'm just curious…what happened to your dad?" she avoided his eyes which she found to be a deep blue that seemed endless. "Don't know…hey I'm not angry, you're entitled to ask questions." Kurt gave her a warm smile.

"I never knew him, and I actually don't want to." He laughed and she gave him a confused look. "Well _anyone_ crazy enough to get together with _my_ mom must be senile." They kept their expressions straight for all of five seconds before bursting out in laughter.

As they both went back to normal Kurt took a glance at the clock, "Wow, we've been sitting here for nearly an hour." Kitty whistled appreciatively. "So, you _obviously_ are going to be busy unpacking for a while." She stated, noticing the abundance of boxes that were still stacked around the house.

"Yep. What a fun day!" she rolled her eyes at his sarcasm. "Well, you want some help?" he smiled, "That would be great."

She grinned and stood. "Alright, lead on then."

He shook his head and laughed before leading her upstairs. "Evan actually came over and gave me a hand last night, so it's not _as_ bad but…" he left the end of the sentence open allowing the stacks of boxes to speak for themselves.

Kitty looked around and noticed the bookshelf, "I'll work on those, and you have a shower." He grinned. "And _you_ are a mind reader. Be back in ten."

True to his word, Kurt was gone for ten minutes before coming back in cargos and a red t-shirt, his hair slightly damp. Kitty had already finished the box Evan had started the night before and was opening another.

"You work fast." He complimented before opening yet another box of CDs.

"Thanks. Okay, I have an idea." Kurt smirked, "End of world idea or possibility of us being arrested idea?" Kitty grabbed a pillow from his bed and chucked it at him.

"Neither smart aleck." He chuckled.

"It's just we don't know much about each other so how about we just swap questions?" Kurt thought for a minute, "Alright, but we have the right to refuse to answer a question." Kitty nodded in agreement. "Sounds good. Okay, besides gymnastics, what are your hobbies?" Kurt grinned, "You started with an easy question. Well, I play guitar, read and occasionally I'll skateboard."

Kitty smiled, "Are you any good?"

"In skateboarding or guitar?"

"Both."

"I can do a few tricks on a skateboard, but nothing too jaw dropping and as for guitar, I picked it up when I was…four I think, so pretty good. Now, what about you? Your sister mentioned that you dance. What kind?"

Kitty blushed, "Whatever I could get into as a child, but usually I stick to jazz, ballet, and hip-hop. I love dancing when it tells a story." She admitted and he smiled. "Cool, okay your turn."

She thought for a minute, "Favourite bands, to listen to and to play."

He grinned, his eyes lighting up, "To listen to: Simple Plan, Linkin Park, Fall Out Boy, Nickelback and Daughtry. To play: Daughtry, Simple Plan, some Nickelback and Evanescence or Nightwish when I want something really challenging." He nodded in her direction, "What about you, favourite bands?" She smiled, "Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Avril Lavigne, Megan McCauley, Michelle Branch and oddly enough, Simple Plan and Daughtry. Evan got me hooked." He chuckled and it continued like this for a while, even as they finished Kurt's room and continued on in the living room.

"Most endearing but annoying thing one or both of your parents have called you."

Kitty grinned, "Easy, my dad has this thing where he is almost physically impossible of calling us by our first name, so _everyone_ gets a nickname. You know you're in trouble or if the situation is serious if he calls you by your real name." She explained and Kurt nodded as he hooked up the TV.

"So what's your nickname?" "Half-Pint. Insanely annoying, but nowhere _near_ as bad as Evan's."

Kurt looked up, "Oh there's a story there."

Kitty giggled, "A couple years ago, he got this _really_ bad haircut that was like one of those punk rockers. All spiky and stuff." Kurt snorted at the mental image. "Well, my dad started calling him Porcupine and the name just stuck. Beware; you'll probably get one too." Kurt grinned, "I look forward to it Katzchen."

Kitty blinked, "Um, what?"

"Oh, sorry." Kurt blushed when he realized what he'd said. "It's uh German for kitten. Kitten, Kitty, Katzchen. Sorry bout that."

She smiled and shook her head. "No problem, I like it."

He grinned, "How long did you live in Germany anyway?"

"Long enough for German to be my first language, but my mom moves a lot for her job. Hopefully we stay here for a while longer though, moving is an absolute pain." She nodded and smiled as she finished stacking the DVDs.

"Tell me about it. We moved _once_ when I was a child. I never want to do it again." Kurt laughed and they fell back into their easy conversation.

It was just as Kurt noticed that it was nearly eleven thirty when the doorbell rang.

Taking notice of who was surrounded by more boxes, Kitty squeezed through the mini maze to the door. "I got it!" she opened the door to reveal Marie and Evan.

"There you are!" Marie grinned but they all rushed back into the living room when they heard the sound of what must have been paper or cardboard fall and a low "Ow..."

Entering they found that a stack of boxes had tipped over, completely covering their new friend in books and sheets of paper.

"Kurt?"

"A little help would be nice." His voice was muffled by the paper and the girls laughed as Evan dug him out.

"Thanks." Evan gave him a hand up, fighting a grin.

"Go ahead, laugh, not the first time that happened." Evan snorted and the girls had to hold onto each other to stay up.

"So, we just came over to make sure you guys weren't starving yourselves, but from the looks of your kitchen, it appears you will be coming with us. Evan, grab the Elf."

"The wha-hey!" Evan grabbed Kurt's arm and pulled him out the front door.

Marie smirked and spotted the house key hung up behind the door. She slipped it off the hook and locked the house as they headed across the street to Evan's house.

"Alright, what's with the 'Elf' thing?" Kitty questioned even if she had a pretty good idea.

"Dad of course."

"How'd he come up with Elf?" Kurt spoke up from where he was still at Evan's mercy.

"I don't know." Marie grinned; she knew very well it was because of Kurt's shorter stature.

"Probably because you're just the _slightest_ bit taller than Kit." Kurt rolled his eyes and Kitty smirked, "Told you so." He laughed at that and finally slipped from Evan's hold.

"Hey, get back here!" Kurt laughed and jumped out of the way, meaning he ended up behind Marie.

The girls kept walking towards their cousin's house, Evan chasing Kurt in circles around them. By the time they made it to the front step, Evan was still chasing him.

"I give! I give!" he exclaimed and collapsed on his front lawn.

Kurt bowed and helped his friend up.

"Mom's hosting some garden club thing so we're eating at Evan's." Marie explained as the skateboarder opened his front door. "Yep, and Marie is her sandwiches of awesomeness!" Evan led them through the house to the kitchen where they sat around the table, watching Marie make sandwiches to the order of the others.

"Okay, you need to take a break." Evan ordered Kurt after they'd finished eating and had done the dishes.

At Kurt's confused expression Evan elaborated, "You have been doing nothing but unpacking for two days, you are going to have some fun. And I don't _care_ what your mom would have to say on the matter."

Kurt smirked, "Actually, I was going to ask what you had in mind."

Evan smiled, "I don't know, you said you skateboard?" Kurt nodded, "Well then, let me kick your butt. There's Terrain Park down a few blocks that hardly anyone knows exists, we can go there."

"I'm up for that." He grinned.

"Can we come?" Kitty asked. "Sure Kit, I don't see why not." She smiled, "Alright, be back in a few." She smiled and ran out the back door.

"Grab my manuscripts while you're at it!" Marie called after her sister.

"Got it!"

Kurt chuckled. "I just have to go dig out my board." That left Marie and Evan to wait on the front step for their friends.

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A/N: Alright let me know what you think!


	2. Black and Blue

Chapter 2: Black and Blue

Disclaimer: Really?! I own the X Men? Oh, sorry, I just own this story, never mind...

A/N: And the plot begins! Oh, and with a smattering of Kurtty on the side!

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Evan did a flip and rolled down the ramp, smirking the entire way. Kurt grinned and dropped his board following Evan's example, the boys copied each other in a strange game of follow the leader as the girls watched from the side lines. At one point Kurt did a front flip over a bench to land on his board much to Evan's surprise.

"So you _can_ do that on a board, you had me worried I was taking you out of your element."

Kurt laughed, "Nope, but I'm still not in your league. You're going easy on me!"

"That is true!" the boys laughed and Kitty watched with interest.

"Kurt's nice." Marie spoke up, her grin hidden by her manuscript of 'Dracula'.

"Yeah, I like him." Kitty smiled.

Marie finally looked up at her little sister. "Why aren't you dancing, you're never this intent on watching Evan board."

A pink blush rose on Kitty's cheeks but still she smiled and stood and turned on her portable IPod speaker, quickly finding the song she wanted. After doing several stretches she pressed play, and The Black Eyed Peas' 'Don't Phunk With My Heart' started playing, with Kitty dancing and following the beat to the exact measure.

Marie grinned and closed her script, tapping her foot to the beat she watched her sister twist and spin, using the props of the Terrain Park in her performance.

Kurt stopped and watched Kitty with a smile. "She's good." He stated and stood back to watch her. His eyes followed her feet and took in the relaxed smile on her face along with her closed eyes as she was taken by the music.

He grinned and walked over; he jumped on a bar and did a handstand on it, leaning his head back in an incredible act of flexibility.

Kitty spun over and her eyes opened to find she had a new dance partner. She smirked, "Alright You...gonna help me out here?"

Kurt smirked and flipped to stand on the bar. He held out his hand and helped her up. She proceeded to spin, Kurt helping her balance.

She kept her eyes closed and Kurt's expression became relaxed. Marie and Evan watched in amazement, the show of balance was incredible in their eyes and they kept looking for the wires holding their friends up.

Eventually Kitty grinned and jumped down; Kurt did a front flip over her head and spun in the air to land so he was facing her. She smirked and took his hand as he spun her around him.

Marie grinned and joined in, quickly followed by Evan. It was quite clear that Kitty was the best dancer, but the other three held up quite well. As the song ended, Evan swept Marie into a dip and Kurt did the same with Kitty.

He grinned and pulled her up and she smiled. "Thanks Kurt that was the most fun I've had dancing in a while."

He shrugged. "It was fun...you're immensely talented." His praised was rewarded when Kitty blushed.

"Thanks."

The four returned from their impromptu dance routine to their own individual activities. Kitty falling back into her own dancing world, Evan focused entirely on his skateboarding. Marie had her tongue between her teeth as she read her script, trying to find a way to modernize 'Dracula' without losing the overall story. Kurt, taking calm even breathes, balanced one handed on a rail near where Kitty was dancing. Aside from the interesting balancing act he was putting on, he looked like he was meditating.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't our favourite losers."

Kitty snapped out of her trance as did Kurt. Evan paused and looked to the voice and Marie switched off Kitty's music and looked over with irritation.

A tall brunette boy looking like the ideal bad-boy stood at the entrance to the Terrain Park, flanked by a slimy looking boy with greasy and dirty, in the literal sense, blonde hair, along with a platinum blonde teenage boy dressed in expensive looking clothes.

"What do you want Lance?" Marie sighed and Kitty fell back into herself, looking like a shy little wallflower.

Kurt didn't like the change and dropped from his hand stand silently and walked over to stand behind Kitty.

She stepped back and jumped a bit when she brushed up against him. Looking up he gave her a reassuring grin and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Lance shrugged in answer to Marie's question, "Well mainly I want to ask Pretty Kitty on a date, so if you'll excuse me."

"Not on your life!" Kurt snarled, gently pushing Kitty behind him.

Evan's, Marie's and Kitty's jaws all dropped, up until now they'd only heard Kurt emotionless, around his mother, and easy going, the anger was new and reminded them of Logan when he got protective.

Kurt, for his part, didn't notice their reactions. What he _had_ noticed was how Kitty had tensed up when Lance revealed what he wanted. He had always had a protective streak in him, and his friend's fear wasn't something that he'd let pass by easily.

"And who are you?" Lance looked Kurt over and quickly made the decision that he was no threat.

"Doesn't matter, you aren't asking Kitty on a date, so move along and go vandalize a park bench somewhere."

Lance strode over and got right in Kurt's face. "No one tells me what to do. Not even some freak like you."

Kurt cocked an eyebrow then smirked. "So what are you planning on doing? Dragging Kitty off if she doesn't agree to a date?"

Lance smirked, "Exactly." Kurt stood straight and crossed his arms before making a motion for Lance to look behind him.

Being the smart boy he was, he turned and found himself being stared down by a _very_ angry looking James Howlett.

"_What_ were you plannin' on doin' to my daughter?" the man strode down the concrete steps and Evan held in a chuckle when Todd and Pietro bolted.

Lance stood stiff as a pole and was close to hyperventilating.

"Why don't you kids head home and I'll take care of Alvers here." His tone showed it wasn't a suggestion.

"Got it Dad." Marie chimed and packed up their things.

Kurt wrapped a friendly arm around Kitty's shoulders and led her after Evan who handed his friend his board. It was only when they were half a block away from the park when they paused and all shared a look before falling to the ground in laughter.

"Dear Lord your father is scary." Kurt choked out.

Marie smirked, "Told ya so."

Evan shook his head. "You are insane, man, completely nuts."

Kurt shrugged and Kitty smiled. "Thanks for that though." She whispered for his ears only as they stood.

He gave her a warm smile, like the one he'd given her that morning. "That's what I'm here for." That statement alone sent Kitty's heart fluttering.

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Later that night, Evan flipped through a sports magazine as his mother watched TV downstairs. Everything was peaceful and calm, or at least it _was_ until the sound of a car driving up and the front door opening and slamming shut reached his ears.

"What is _this_?!"

"Thomas, now please just calm down..."

"Calm down?! Calm down?! Vivian why the _hell_ did I just get _divorce _papers from your lawyer?!"

Evan winced and quietly closed his door, even though his parents were yelling so loudly he doubted they'd hear if he slammed it.

He could still hear them though and he buried his face in his pillow, putting on his headphones and blasting Fall Out Boy's 'Thanks for the Memories' in an attempt to cover his parent's yells.

He paid no attention to the tears that started to soak his pillow or the yells that grew louder and louder. His heart pounded in his ears as even through his music he could hear the sounds of crashes as things were thrown and insults were cried. He covered his head with his pillow, trying to block it all out...

By morning, he'd cried himself to sleep and his eyes felt weird from having cried all night. His IPod had died at some point and was now silent along with the rest of the house.

With a sad sigh, he went from hid bed, to his bedroom door and down the stairs. The scene in the living room was similar to all the times his father had come home angry and his parents had fought.

Breakables were shattered, their pieces coating the hardwood. Several pillows had been torn apart somehow and the feathers added to the mess. A few chairs were tipped over and all in all the room was an absolute mess.

He turned and went back upstairs and into his bathroom where he had a quick shower before changing into a blue t-shirt and grey shorts. He grabbed his skateboard before leaving the house and headed across the street. He knocked on the door and it was opened several minutes later by a tired looking Kurt.

"Evan?" he yawned and stepped aside.

"Hey, sorry. Did I wake you up?"

"Huh? No, no, nothing like," he yawned, "Nothing like that, I actually just woke up." He gave his friend a tired grin before becoming concerned. "Are you alright?"

Evan gave his friend a surprised look. "Yeah, totally, why do you ask?"

Kurt shrugged. "You seem off."

Evan gave his friend a reassuring grin. "I'm fine, no worries...So," he dropped onto the couch, "What are you doing today?"

Kurt shrugged himself. "I got pretty much everything unpacked last night, so I have no idea."

"Well, Marie's going to some Gothic book signing with her friend, but I don't think Kit's doing anything, we could steal her for the day."

Kurt grinned, "Can I get into some actual clothes first though?" he was still in his workout clothes.

"Yeah, yeah, just be quick." Kurt chucked a pillow at his friend as he headed upstairs to get dressed.

By the time he came back downstairs he was in jeans and a green t-shirt. "So what's the plan of attack?" he questioned as they strolled down the sidewalk.

Evan smirked, "I say we do the gag and bag, very efficient."

Kurt laughed and they entered the Howlett house, nearly getting run over by Marie as she rushed past with another Gothic looking girl with short cropped black hair and wearing all red.

"Oh hey Evan, Kurt. Kit's upstairs, see ya!" the two boys watched with amusement as the girls left the house and jumped into the car parked outside.

"You feel loved when she doesn't even look at you." Kurt stated sarcastically.

"Hello?!" Evan called up the stairs.

"Stop standing there and get up here!" Kitty yelled back and the two guys headed up to find the only door open was one that lead into the cream room that housed Kitty.

Kurt looked around taking in the twin bed with pale pink sheets and general lack of dark colors. Kitty herself was bent over her desk and an open book looking tense.

"Help me!"

Kurt and Evan shared a look and Evan lowered his voice. "All yours mate, I'm no good with this stuff."

"Thanks." Kurt said with sarcasm dripping from his tone.

"I'll be raiding the fridge." the dark skinned boy finished and ducked out of the room.

Kurt took a breath and walked over to where Kitty was having a small panic attack. "Alright, what's the problem." he leaned over her and took a look at the papers spread over the desk. They all had one thing in common: computer programming.

"What _is_ all this?" he asked and picked up several of the pages.

"Ugh, my mark in Computer Technologies class last year was majorly low and I need to make up the work over the summer. Well, there's a month left and I still have no freaking clue what I'm doing!"

"Okay, alright, relax..." he placed a calming hand on her shoulder. "Calm down and take a breath." he ordered softly.

Kitty closed her eyes and leaned back against his chest doing as he said and felt herself relax.

"Now, as I see it, all you need to do is create a good project and hand that in."

"Alright, and what do you suggest?"

Kurt grinned, "Do you own a video camera?"

She nodded, "Marie does."

"Perfect. Create a video, edit it together and voila! You're done!" he grinned and finally Kitty relaxed.

"That sounds _so_ much easier."

"Good, now your sister would kill us if we took her camera without asking so you are going to take a break and keep Evan and I from going insane." she laughed and took his hand as he led her downstairs.

"Kit! You're still alive...and you _didn't_ kill Kurt, a personal best!" she punched his arm and Kurt stifled a chuckle.

"Any idea what we're going to do all day?" Kurt questioned rolling his shoulders, he was sure he'd pulled something that morning.

"I have _no_ idea." the cousins dropped into chairs followed quickly by Kurt.

When Ororo came in from the backyard it was to find her daughter, her nephew and their friend staring at each other blankly. "Hello?"

They came to life slowly and greeted her. "Hey Mom/Aunty O/Mrs. Howlett."

She shook her head and grinned, "What are you three doing inside on such a nice day?"

"Trying to find something to do." Evan supplied.

"Yes, you look hard at work." she laughed. "Why don't you just go for a walk through town, you're sure to find _something_ to do."

They all looked at each other. "We don't have anything better to do." Kitty stated and stood, pulling Kurt with her. "You coming Evan?" he sighed and followed.

"Sure, why not?"

Ororo grinned as the three teens left, it was quite interesting how easily Kitty had warmed up to Kurt, she wasn't usually that courageous, choosing instead to stay in the background.

~_This might be interesting. ~_ She decided and finished her lemonade to head back to her beloved garden.

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"Oh God, hide me!" Evan jumped behind Kurt, ducking his head.

"Uh, can we ask why?" Kurt fought to keep the laughter to a minimal.

"My ex-girlfriend, Calisto, is right over there." he pointed to a tall black haired white girl across the street.

"Her?! She's such a control freak it's ridiculous." Kitty crossed her arms. In the few weeks the two had dated, she and Marie had hardly seen Evan at all.

"Bad break up?" Kurt guessed.

"You have _no_ idea." Evan whispered.

"I think I do, I dated this girl named Amanda back in San Francisco, worst mistake of my life! She was controlling, overbearing and I never got a single minute to myself. It was probably the only time I've actually been glad to hear my Mom say the words: we're moving." Kitty rubbed his arm sympathetically.

"Kitty!" Calisto called and Evan made a soft yelp of panic. Kurt promptly elbowed his friend.

"What do we do, she'll flip if she sees me." Evan whispered.

"I'm thinking. I'm thinking..." Kurt replied trying to find an answer to their apparent problem.

Kitty's eyes lit up with an idea and she looped her arm with Kurt's. "Just play along." she whispered. "Evan, hide behind us both and don't make a sound."

"Kitty, it's so nice to see you." Calisto came up dressed in army colors and Kurt wondered momentarily why Evan had dated the girl.

"It's great to see you too." Kitty replied, lying through her teeth.

"Who's this?" Calisto finally noticed that Kitty was with someone.

"Oh this is my boyfriend Kurt." was the answer.

Kurt caught on quickly and smiled, "Kurt Darkholme." he held his hand out to the girl.

"Oh, it's uh, nice to meet you." she shook his hand and Evan held his breath. "So Kitty, have you seen Evan recently?"

"No, actually, he and his mom went on vacation for the summer." Kitty tilted her head to the side slightly, looking like an innocent child.

"Oh, uh, thanks I guess. Nice meeting you." Calisto walked away and it was a few minutes later that Evan finally popped back up.

"Thank you Lord!" Kurt and Kitty laughed and dragged Evan off, heading in a random direction.

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"Sorry my brother's such a pain." Wanda said after Marie had finished retelling the previous day's activities.

"Hey it's not your fault Pietro can be an ass." Wanda rolled her eyes as they pulled up to her friend's house. Ororo was in the front garden tending to one of the many flower beds.

"Hey Mom!" she turned and smiled when she saw her daughter, through some strange DNA mutations, both of her daughters had their father's pale skin, not even a hint of her own African roots showed unless you really looked.

"Hey you two. Wanda I never got to ask you if your family was coming to our end of summer party on the thirtieth."

Wanda smiled, "We'll be sure to drop by Mrs. Howlett."

Ororo nodded with a grin. "Marie, Kitty and Kurt are in the backyard; she said something about needing to borrow your camera and needed to speak with you."

"Thanks Mom." The girls quickly walked through the house to find the two teens exactly where Ororo had said they'd be.

Kitty was sitting in the tire swing that hung from the tree while Kurt relaxed above her in the branches. They'd only known Kurt for a few days but already those sorts of things were normal.

"Hey Marie!"

"Guten Tag Fraulein." Kurt smirked, "Told you, German's my first language."

The Goth shook her head. "You're a weird one Kurt Darkholme."

"Thank you."

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Kurt blinked blearily at the blank white ceiling, so far he'd only lived in Bayville for a week and a half and it was by far the most comfortable he'd been in a while.

He wondered for a minute what had woke him up when he heard the incessant knocking coming from downstairs. He glanced momentarily at the clock and groaned: it was four-thirty in the morning.

He was wide awake then, when he heard his mom moving around down the hall.

~_Crap! Not good! ~_

He jumped from his bed and quickly went downstairs, his mother's movements ceased and he relaxed. ~_One crisis averted. ~_

He unlocked the door and opened it to reveal an ashen faced Evan. "Hey, what's up?" he pulled his friend inside only to notice how badly he was shaking.

"I-they just-and he…" Evan dissolved into incoherent sobs and Kurt led him over to the couch.

"Evan, calm down now. What's going on?" Kurt decided that the best way to deal with this was to stay calm, not fall into the worry that bubbled in his stomach.

Evan took a few breathes, "My Dad he…" he began to hyperventilate and Kurt was reminded violently of when he was little and would wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares of being burned at the stake. He wrapped an arm around his friend and held him tightly until the worst of the shaking left.

"Alright, now slowly tell me what's going on."

Evan looked into his friend's dark blue eyes, they were strong and Evan grasped at that strength and forced himself to get the words out. "My Dad came over," Kurt nodded; he'd been told of the nasty divorce his mom had filed against his dad. "He was drunk or something and he started, he started beating my mom." The last part was faint and Kurt felt a wave of revulsion wash over him. "She yelled for me to leave, he's still over there!"

"Okay, calm down Evan, let's go get Logan." Evan nodded and Kurt pulled him from the couch and out the door.

The boys raced down the street to the Howlett house and started pounding on the door until an irritated Marie answered it. "What?!"

"Where's your Dad?!" Kurt was the only coherent one as Evan was having trouble breathing. Kurt kept an arm around him to hold him up. "Marie it's important."

Her eyes widened at the sight of her cousin. "DAD!" she called loudly and there were soon heavy footsteps on the stairs.

"What's going on?" he growled out.

"Evan's dad, he's attacking his mom!" Kurt got out before Logan growled angrily.

"Call the police." He ordered Marie and barrelled out the door and down the street.

The Goth gaped before jumping into the living room and dialling 911.

Kurt sat Evan on the couch and tried to focus on calming him. "Relax Evan, your uncle's going over there to help your mom, Marie is getting the police. Everything's going to be fine." Evan nodded, hugging himself and Ororo made herself known, having heard the entire thing.

"I'll take it from here." She whispered and sat herself next to her nephew, pulling him to her.

Kurt stood from the couch and did the one thing he did when he was stressed, he started pacing. That was how he was found by Kitty when she finally made it downstairs.

"Kurt?" she placed a hand on his arm causing him to stop. "What's wrong?" Coming downstairs to find her father gone, her mother comforting her cousin, her sister staring anxiously at the phone and her friend pacing restlessly was not normal.

He sighed and took her hand, pulling her into the kitchen where he told her the entire story.

She fell into a chair in shock. "Oh God…" he sat next to her.

"Please don't break down Katzchen." His voice was thick; Kurt was worried he wouldn't be able to stay strong if two people he cared about broke down. She looked at him and shook her head and wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back and they held to each other like a lifeline.

Kitty bit her lip, struggling not to cry. Her aunt was a good person; she didn't deserve this sort of thing.

"'Ro!" Logan's voice came through the front door and everyone came to life.

Evan having finally calmed down, Ororo left him on the couch to speak with Logan. Marie took up her mother's place on the couch next to Evan as she went to her husband.

"The police are at Vivian's house along with the paramedics, they need to speak with you, Evan and Kurt. I told them the entire story." She nodded and Kurt squeezed Kitty's hand, wrapping a brotherly arm around Evan to pull him from the couch.

"You just need to tell them what you told me." He whispered in his friend's ear.

They went outside to find three police cars and an ambulance waiting for them. A female cop came over, her expression soft. "And which one of these boys is her son?"

"Me." Evan held up his hand.

"Alright, now I need you to tell me your version of the story." Evan quietly told her what he'd told Kurt, ending with how he'd ran to his friend's house in his panic.

The woman nodded, "Alright, and this is your friend Mr. Daniels."

"It's Monroe, and yes." Evan gained more confidence in his tone as he refused to be called by his father's last name. Kurt grinned despite himself at his friend's tone.

"And your name is?"

"Kurt Darkholme ma'am." He stated and told her his part of the story, ending at Logan's departure from the house.

"And Mr. Howlett, why exactly did you leave the house?"

"Vivian's my sister-in-law and I'm not about to let some self absorbed bastard hurt her." He stated, his arms crossed with a 'don't mess with my family' expression on his face.

Marie and Kitty silently crept out of the house and over to Evan and Kurt where they flanked the boys as the police officer finished questioning Ororo and Logan.

"Alright, well that's all I need."

"Is my mom alright?" Evan spoke up and the woman turned.

"She's stable but being taken to the hospital as we speak." Evan nodded.

"And Thomas?" Ororo questioned wondering what had happened to her sister's attacker.

"Is being taken to jail where he will be held until further notice." The cop completed then left the scene.

Ororo smiled at the teens. "C'mon, I think this calls for something to eat." She herded them all inside and sat them at the kitchen table while she proceeded to search through the pantries.

Marie and Kurt shared a look; she was clearly more broken up by this than she was admitting. "Mom. It's alright we're-"

"I know you're fine, honey, but I just need to be doing something." She said softly. Marie nodded and got comfortable.

Evan dropped his head to the table and Kitty leaned up against Kurt. All together, the teenagers let out a sigh. The sound of food cooking filled the small kitchen and Kitty drifted off into a light doze while Marie watched her mother with a far-away look.

"Hey Kurt?" Evan spoke up.

"Yeah?" he looked over at his friend.

"Thanks mate." He gave him a weak smile which Kurt returned.

"No problem Evan. You would've done the same for me." Evan's smile grew a little bit.

"Here you go kids." Ororo set down a plate of pancakes, a pitcher of orange juice, fruit salad and many other breakfast dishes.

Kurt gently nudged Kitty and the four ate at a slow pace, eventually just pushing their food around their plates.

Leaving Ororo to clean the dishes, she insisted, they went into the living room and took up several of the seats.

Kurt sat on the couch and pulled his legs up underneath him, Kitty joined him, and curled up next to him, her head resting on his shoulder. Everything finally caught up with the boy and he drifted off to sleep, Kitty following soon after. Evan grinned a bit and threw a blanket over them.

"Cute." Marie remarked as she curled up one the loveseat.

Evan sat in one of the armchairs and leaned back into it as silence descended over the house. "She'll be fine, Evan."

He grinned gratefully at Marie. "Thanks, Marie."

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When Kitty woke up, the first thing she noticed was that she wasn't in her bed. Moving a little she realized she'd fallen asleep against Kurt, who was still sleeping himself.

~_Oops. ~_ She shrugged mentally and laid her head on his shoulder again with a small smile playing on her lips.

She simply rested until everyone else started stirring, starting with Kurt. He blinked owlishly and sat up straighter.

She moved off him, "You make a good pillow." She stated softly, not wanting to wake anyone else up.

He gave her a playful grin and stretched his stiff muscles, "I'll take that as a compliment."

He stood from the couch. "Guess I should go home."

She sighed, "I'll be back after I've gotten dressed though." She gave him a small smile.

"Alright, see you in a little bit."

"Half hour tops." He grinned and left the living room, closing the front door softly behind him.

He made his way home quickly and entered through the unlocked front door. Listening hard he found he couldn't hear any sounds that might indicate his mom was still home so he shrugged and locked the door, heading up to have a shower and get dressed.

After he'd successfully relaxed every muscle in his body with the hot water he changed into tan cargos and a red t-shirt.

Going downstairs he was met with a very strange sight: his mother, standing in the middle of the living room, her hands on his hips as she glared at him.

Raven Darkholme was not someone you'd like to meet in a dark alley. Even after having a child she was fit and thin, always impeccably dressed in the best suits and had a no-nonsense vibe to her that was highlighted by her sharp gray eyed gaze.

"Where exactly did you disappear off to at four in the morning?" Kurt nearly winced, she was angry.

"Sorry, mom, my friend needed some help and…"

"Spare me your excuses, I don't want to hear them, nor do I have time for them." He did wince this time.

"You will not be leaving this house young man, no buts!" he closed his mouth and looked down.

"I have to go to work, you better be here when I get back." She warned and left, he waited for the sound of her car leaving and watched through the front window until it disappeared.

"Grounded my ass." He muttered and left through the back door, an angry scowl fixed on his face as he stuck his hands in his pockets.

By the time he reached the Howlett house, the worst of his anger had left to be left with dark brooding.

He walked inside without knocking, as was becoming custom for him to do, and found Kitty curled up on the couch, except dressed as opposed to when she was in her pyjamas earlier.

"Hey, that was forty five minutes, where were you?"

He gave her a tired grin. "Never try and deal with my mother this early." He shuddered and dropped down next to her.

"Ouch, she was angry?"

He shrugged, "She's always angry."

She sighed and nudged him. "Mom took Evan to the hospital and Marie decided to go back to bed. What do you want to do?" he shrugged again.

"To be honest, I don't feel up to much."

She sighed "Thank God."

Kitty fell back against the couch and closed her eyes, "Nap time." He laughed and ran a hand down over her hair. She smiled and leaned against him instead of the couch. He grinned a bit and leaned against the couch, drifting in and out of sleep.

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Kurt walked back into his house later that evening having spent the entire day with his friends. Evan had come back around Lunch and they'd all relaxed around the house, still winding down from the night before.

He strolled into the kitchen through the backdoor and in a strangely reminiscent way found his mother in the living room looking absolutely livid.

"So now because I'm not here you don't follow my orders?" he went stiff and prepared himself for a tongue lashing.

"I leave for work and you immediately flit off to God knows where!"

"Mom, look last night-" he reeled back as his mother's hand made contact with his cheek.

He stared at her with surprise, "You will _not_ back talk to me."

He gulped, this was not going well. "I don't care if your friend's house was on fire or their father had a heart attack, you do _not_ disobey me!" he winced and fought the urge to curl into a ball.

"Go upstairs _now_!" he slowly passed her and made his way up the stairs and into his room with his mother following him.

"No music, no phone and you are not to leave this house for _any_ reason." She slammed the door and he dropped onto his bed.

He brought a hand to his stinging cheek with a wince. ~_Ow…~_ he took a breath and curled up under the blankets, trying to ignore the world, it'd worked before.

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Kurt must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew he was waking up to bright sunlight.

He groaned and rolled over, away from the light. There was knocking at the door, and he knew he couldn't answer it.

If that wasn't bad enough, he could hear his friend's through the open window.

"Kurt! Hey Kurt, are you in there?" Kitty's voice drifted inside and he brought his legs to his chest, bighting his lip, no he did _not_ want to go down _that_ road again.

"C'mon man, where are you?" Evan voice joined in and Kurt clenched his eyes shut.

Outside, the three cousins were getting concerned. "Do you think he'd okay?"

"I don't know…" Marie replied to her sister's question.

"Hey, check it out, his windows open." Evan pointed.

"Kurt, are you up there?" Kitty called and finally their friend appeared, looking exhausted and Evan noticed a faint mark marring the pale skin of his cheek.

"Hey, you all right man?"

Kurt didn't know how to reply. "That's it, I'm coming up." Evan left the front step and started climbing the tree outside Kurt's house. Scaling it quickly he climbed onto the roof and crept over to Kurt's window.

He frowned when he saw his eyes hadn't been playing tricks on him; there was a blue-purple bruise on Kurt's cheek.

"Alright, what's going on?" he asked angrily, regretting it immediately when Kurt winced. "C'mon man, your scaring me." He said softer.

Kurt took a breath, "I can't leave the house."

"Mom's orders?" He nodded, "And she's the one that gave you that bruise."

Kurt said the first lie that came to mind, "No, I..._fell_, actually..."

Evan cocked an eyebrow as if to say, 'Yeah, and I'm King of the Universe' "Yeah, you the master of balance actually _fell_. Do you _really_ expect me to believe that?" he entered the rest of the way through the window, levelling a glare at his friend.

Kurt looked away, not exactly knowing how to respond.

Evan sighed and went to stand by his friend, placing a hand on his shoulder. Kurt tensed up and Evan immediately regretted the way he'd been acting. "Look I'm sorry man...how long has this been going on?" he asked quietly.

"She doesn't hit me all the time, just when I make her really angry..." that wasn't the whole truth, but no way in _hell_ was he about to say what had happened a few years ago, _no way._

"Kurt..." Evan sighed; he had no idea how to deal with this sort of thing. "Come on." He put an arm around his friend and guided him downstairs.

He was about to go to the front door when Kurt reacted quite strangely, ducking out of Evan's hold and backing up until he hit the stairs.

Evan looked confused, "Kurt? What's?"

"I'm not allowed to leave." He shook his head, his eyes like that of a captured animal.

Evan's eyes were empathetic and he could see his friend was close to a full on panic attack. "Alright, you don't have to leave, but Kitty and Marie are coming in." Kurt relaxed a bit and nodded his head, leaving Evan to unlock and open the front door, beckoning the girls inside.

The girls stepped in, stopping and staring when they saw their normally upbeat friend sitting on his stairs, his eyes dead.

Kitty rushed over and sat next to him, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly. She gently brushed his navy hair away from his eyes, catching sight of the bruise on his cheek.

He looked up at her, almost confused. Kitty sighed, fighting the tears that fought to fall. She hugged him tighter, placing a kiss on the top if his head.

He closed his eyes and leaned into her embrace relaxing a bit more around his friends, whom he trusted more than his own mother.

"What's going on?" Marie quietly questioned Evan.

"His mom's an absolute bitch, that's what." He hissed angrily, still keeping his voice low enough not to spook Kurt.

Her jaw dropped and she finally noticed the bruise on his cheek, "That retched, evil, no good..." she continued to insult Raven Darkholme, using words that made Evan's eyes widen and some that he wasn't quite sure were legal.

On the stairs Kitty continued to comfort her friend, whom she was scared to notice was starting to shake violently. "Kurt? Kurt are you alright?" her voice grew panicked and she released him to kneel in front of him. "Kurt?!"

Alarmed, Evan and Marie rushed over and took a look at their friend. He seemed paler than normal, his eyes were glazed and he wasn't responding to them at all.

"Evan, run and get my mom, now!" Marie ordered and he left through the front door as fast as his feet could carry him. "Kitty, try and calm him down." Her sister nodded and took Kurt's face in her hands.

"Kurt, you need to calm down. You're okay, you're alright, nothing's going to happen to you." She stated, sounding more confident than she actually felt.

His eyes met hers, "I don't, I don't..." he choked out and he was wracked by sobs. She brushed the tears away, truly terrified but refusing to show it.

"She's not going to hurt you. We won't let her. We'll tell the police."

He swallowed, "That w-won't work..." he whispered. "She pays them o-off. She'll g-get her w-way no matter what!" Kitty felt like she'd just been electrocuted.

"Kurt...has this happened before?" her voice was soft and he nodded, biting his lip so hard she was worried he'd draw blood.

Her resolve hardened, "She won't hurt you, I swear Kurt, she won't."

He shook his head violently, shaking even worse than before. "It won't work, it won't work, it won't..." he gasped out and Marie came back into the room, a damp face cloth in her hand.

Gently, she dabbed his face, hoping to cool him off. Kitty whispered softly to him and Marie joined her.

That was how they were when Evan came back, alone. "She isn't there, no one is!" Marie bit her lip; so far Kurt was only getting worse, not better.

Kitty closed her eyes and hugged Kurt as tightly as she dared.

Evan noticed something: Kurt stopped shaking ever so slightly. He kneeled down and wrapped his arms around his friend and his cousin, the shaking abated a bit more. Marie wrapped her arms around all three of them and they all hugged their friend until the shaking left completely.

Evan and Marie pulled away, leaving Kitty holding Kurt who had his eyes clamped shut. Marie brushed her finger lightly over the bruise on his cheek. His eyes flew open, seeing first a sympathetic looking Marie then a worried Evan. He blinked a few times, quickly putting two and two together.

He sighed, "Are you okay?" Kitty asked softly and he nodded wordlessly.

"Not the first time." He mumbled hoarsely.

"Kurt, we have to know what just happened."

He looked down, "Birth defect, at least, that what _she_ calls it. Whenever something like..._this_ happens, I have something that's relatable to a panic attack. I got them a lot as a kid." He finished, the attacks always left him tired and physically sore.

Evan laid a hand on his arm, "You're okay now though right?" Kurt nodded and his friends were still scared to see that his eyes were empty of their regular laughter.

The four stayed there for a few minutes not talking, not moving, not doing _anything_, just trying to think through the disaster that had just erupted in their lives.

Kitty closed her eyes and rested her head on top of Kurt's, sighing softly.

"Why'd she hit you Kurt?" Marie broke the silence and Kurt, gave them the absolute truth, they deserved it after helping him.

"She was angry that I left the house at four in the morning, and then came back really late. She told me to stay home, but I just _couldn't_. So when I came back last night, she..." he trailed off, letting them piece the rest together.

"Wait, she was angry 'cause you helped me?" Evan questioned.

"I couldn't even explain." The reply silenced them all.

The sound of a car driving up shattered the silence.

"Oh god, she's home early." Kurt stood quickly. "There's no way you'll be able to get out through the front or back door."

The car was shut off. "Upstairs, hurry." The four ran up the stairs as fast as possible and into Kurt's room.

"In here." He opened his closet door; thank God he had a walk in closet.

His three friends squeezed inside. "Stay quiet, hopefully she'll leave soon." Kitty pulled the door closed and they stood in the dark, absolutely silent except for a few baited breathes.

Kurt took a calming breath and jumped on his bed, trying to even out his breathing. He shut his eyes just as his mom opened the door.

Her cold eyes searched the room, taking in her apparently sleeping son, then the open window.

Her gaze narrowed and she strode over, slamming the window shut. Kurt pretended to be jolted awake by the sound.

"Mom?" he tried to sound groggy.

She glared at him, "Your window was open." She said as way of explanation.

"I swear I didn't leave the house." Kurt sat up, trying his best not to cower.

In the closet, the three cousins listened to the exchange, their hearts pounding so hard they were sure they'd be given away.

Raven evaluated her son; she cocked an eyebrow, "Good. You're punishment is over tomorrow, don't disobey me again." She left the room, slamming the door behind her.

Kurt didn't move from his position until he heard her car start and drive away.

It was silent for a full five minutes before Kitty opened the closet door.

Kurt closed his eyes and let out a breath of relief, falling back on his bed. He had been sure he was dead meat.

"I'm moving out as soon as I'm old enough." He muttered and Marie attempted to lighten the situation, remembering her first description of Kurt's mother on the day they met him.

"Can I say it _now_?" she questioned, sounding like a child.

Kitty looked at her in confusion but Evan caught on and sighed over dramatically. "If you must..."

Marie grinned and crossed her arms, "That woman certainly has a pole up her ass."

Kurt snorted, a grin gracing his lips. "Pretty sure it's the Statue of Liberty actually." Kitty giggled and fell on the bed next to her friend, lying on her stomach with her chin resting in one hand.

"So what do we do now?" Evan questioned, dropping to Kurt's desk chair.

Marie shrugged, "Kurt?"

He sighed, "We have to just leave it be, this is the first time something like this has happened in a while, so we just have to let it go for now..." the group as a whole did not like this decision, but agreed, seeing as they had no other choice currently.

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A/N: Yeah, I guess that could be considered a cliff hanger. So, this was much longer, something I'm quite happy about! Let me know what you think


	3. Sing for the Soul

Chapter 3: Sing for the Soul

Disclaimer: I have fifteen dollars in my wallet currently; do you really think I could actually own the X Men?

Marie carefully tuned her bass with the tenderness one usually had when caring for a newborn baby.

"Hey Marie!" Kitty popped her head into her sister's room, a smile on her face.

The Goth didn't look up as she replied, "Hey Kit, what's up?"

She grinned, "Evan and Kurt are here, they're wondering if you're ready to go?"

Marie sighed dramatically. "I'm coming, I'm coming." She quickly packed up her instrument and took it downstairs where Evan and Kurt were waiting in the living room.

Kurt had his guitar with him while Evan was twirling drumsticks in his hands.

"Aren't your drums at your place?" Marie questioned.

"Yeah, but waiting for you is always boring." She shook her head in exasperation and the four left the house and headed down the street to Evan's.

Once they'd set up in the garage, they spent a few minutes tuning their instruments before going through a few songs. A few days ago, they'd been bored and decided to try playing together, they actually sounded pretty good even if they didn't have a singer.

Kitty smiled and hummed along as they played. Kurt saw her out of the corner of his eye and smiled to himself, closing his eyes and letting his hands play as he fell into the music and the rhythmical drumming.

After a few hours they all sat back among the stacks of boxes that filled Evan's garage, simply enjoying the time they had to relax.

Kurt strummed on his guitar, his mind far away. This did not go unnoticed by his friends, but seeing as the notes he was strumming weren't dark or depressing, they left him to his thoughts.

Kurt observed Kitty from where he was sitting, she was playing around with Marie's camera, and apparently she'd started on her CT project. He grinned; she'd said she sang, now if only he could get her to sing for him.

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Kitty let herself in through Kurt's front door looking around the familiar house she sighed; there were absolutely no family portraits, or anything at all that made this place feel like a home and not a _show_ home.

The sound of music coming from upstairs prompted her to head up to Kurt's room. It was only when she reached the door that she realized it wasn't a CD that was playing.

Her jaw dropped, Kurt was singing as he played and he was _really_ good. She listened for a little bit more, recognizing Incubus' 'Drive'.

She closed her eyes, a small smile coming to her lips ~_No way this actually him singing. ~_

She poked her head into the room to see her friend playing with his eyes closed as he sang. A quick look confirmed that the stereo was off.

Kitty knocked on the door and the music cut off. She walked in, a smile on her face. "Hey you." She went over and sat beside him.

He grinned nervously, "Uh, hey Katzchen...how long have you been here?"

She shrugged, smirking a bit, "Long enough...why didn't you tell us you could sing?" she bounced a little and he chuckled.

"You never asked?"

She gave a look that said 'Yeah...right.'

He cleared his throat, "Okay, well now you've heard me, it's only fair you have to sing for me."

She froze, "B-but there isn't even any music." She tried to reason, but Kurt just smirked and strummed his guitar several times.

"Now what song?"

She sighed, "Okay, but you have to _promise_ not to laugh if I suck."

He gave her a warm smile, "I would never laugh at you Kitty."

She bit her lip, "Do you know 'It's Only Life', by Kate Voegele?" He thought for a minute and strummed a few notes. She nodded, "That's it..." she took a few breathes and Kurt started playing.

Counting in her head until it was her place to sing.

**The tears are forming, in your eyes...**

**The storm is warning in the sky...**

She sang as he played, her eyes closed, it was when they reached the third verse that he stopped playing. She opened her eyes to see Kurt smiling brightly at her, "I know I-" he placed a finger over her lips, cutting off the rest of her sentence.

"That was amazing." She smiled and he grinned at her, brushing some hair from her face as he pulled away.

"I think we've found our singer." He stated and Kitty blushed.

He started strumming a faster beat, "Do you know 'Slow Ride'?" he questioned and she nodded, gaining a bit more confidence.

He strummed a few more notes before she began to sing.

**Slow ride...take it easy.**

He grinned and sang after her.

**Slow ride...take it easy.**

She grinned and they sang together.

Slow ride...take it easy.

Their voices melded together as they sang and Kitty found herself falling into the song.

Kurt let her take the lead for a line, following after with his own. Oh yes, they had certainly found their singer.

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Later that evening, Kurt pulled out a mic at their rehearsal.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Evan looked at his friend with confusion.

"I found a singer." He said as way of explanation as he hooked up several wires.

"Who?" Marie entered, followed by Kitty.

Kurt finally looked up, "Your sister."

The Goth turned to her blushing sister. "He actually got you to _sing_?" She looked to Kurt, "She won't sing for _anyone_." He didn't react in any way.

"Hey Kit, come over her so I can check the height on this thing."

Several minutes they were set up and Kurt grinned, "Let's start with Wonder, Megan McCauley." He stated and started the guitar intro. Kitty smiled slightly, he'd practiced with her for most of the day so she had this one down pretty good.

Evan, through large amounts of practice, did not miss a beat even as his jaw dropped at his cousin's voice. He and Marie shared shocked looks while Kurt just grinned.

When the song was done, Kitty grinned at her sister's and cousin's shocked looks. "Let's try Remembering Sunday."

"Uh Kit, that's a duet…with a _male_ lead."

She smirked, "I know." And gave Kurt a significant look.

The others looked at him to and he grinned nervously.

"Get up here." Kitty ordered and he came up.

He sighed, "I'll get you back for this." He muttered and started playing.

At the appropriate beat, he started singing, again making Evan's jaw drop. He shook his head and looked to Marie, "We have to get them back for this." She nodded and got ready to start playing.

Kurt relaxed next to his friend; drinking in the blissful expression on Kitty's face.

After several more hours of playing, the four dispersed, Kurt heading across the street to his own house and Kitty and Marie walking down the darkening sidewalk to their own.

Evan closed the garage door and started packing up his drums, mainly for something to do.

"Hi honey." He looked up sharply to see his mom standing in the entrance from the garage to the house.

"Hey Mom." He grinned, leaving his drums to go over to her.

Vivian Monroe had recovered quite quickly from her beating from her ex-husband, and while there were still a few bruises decorating her dark skin, she was rarely seen without a smile.

"Did I miss your friends?" she questioned as she led him into the kitchen where dinner was cooking.

"Yeah...hey Mom, can I ask you something serious?"

She looked at him with worry, "Of course."

He sighed, "What would you do, if something bad was happening to someone that you couldn't control or do anything about?"

She looked surprised. "Well I don't know hon. I guess it would depend on what was happening to that person."

He sighed, "What if someone was getting beat up, but you couldn't go to the police or an adult?"

She placed a gentle hand on his arm, "I guess you would just be there for that person, and try and help where you can." He gave her a smile, "Does that help?"

He nodded, "Yeah, thanks Mom." She kissed his forehead.

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Kitty bit her tongue as she went through the video footage she'd collected over the past few days on her computer. She had, unknown to her friends, taped them and was quite enjoying the end product that was slowly but surely coming together.

She came to one video of Marie chasing Evan around the backyard; she could hear herself and Kurt in the background.

"She'll tire out before she catches him." His voice was sure.

"No way, he messed with her CDs, he's a dead man."

Kitty giggled at the memory and slid the clip into place.

"Kitty, time for dinner!" her mother's voice came up the stairs.

"Be right down!" she called back, saving her work and taking the stairs two at a time to get to the kitchen.

The meal was the same as always, playful banter between the family, casual conversation, but Kitty's mind began to wander.

It traveled down the street to where a certain boy was home alone, no doubt eating by himself in an empty house. The thought was sad one and she resolved to have him over for dinner more often.

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He blinked again at the endless darkness that filled his bedroom; the only sources of light were the glowing green numbers of his alarm clock and the sliver of moonlight that made its way through the crack between the curtains.

Silence encompassed him entirely, no music was playing, no thoughts in his mind, not even the sound of crickets outside made its way to his ears.

That silence was shattered by a car motor before that too cut off to be replaced by the sound of a key being turned in the lock and the front door opening.

Kurt sighed as he heard the sound of his mother's stilettos on the hardwood as she came upstairs.

A doorknob turned and he closed his eyes, remaining motionless as she came into his sanctuary. There was the brush of cloth against cloth and the sinking of the mattress as she sat down on his bed.

She too was quiet and he had to keep from jumping when her hand, cool from the night air, touched his cheek where not too long ago a blue bruise had resided. He heard a sniff and then she placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

What was going on? Why was she suddenly acting so motherly? Like she actually cared?

Her hand smoothed back his bangs and he shifted a little. She pulled back quickly, as if worried he'd woken him. He let out a breath and sunk back into the mattress and he heard her sigh.

Her weight left and the mattress went back to the way it had been before.

As he heard her head back out the door, he cracked open an eye and watched her dark form leave his room.

He took her in, not as his mother, not as the woman who'd hurt him, but as his mom; maybe for the first time since he was little.

Her hair was down, her suit jacket missing along with her glasses. Her lips weren't in their usual severe line, but relaxed and a little sad. He closed his eyes again as she turned.

Her strange act was the only thing on his mind as he went to sleep.

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Kurt yawned as he stumbled down the stairs, clad only in his gray sweats and a white wife beater. He paused in the kitchen entrance when he saw his mother sitting at the counter, her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail and dressed in a charcoal gray robe as she nursed a mug of coffee.

"Good morning." She said softly.

"Morning." He replied just as quietly, this was not normal and it was throwing him off.

Mother and son remained silent for some time before Kurt shook himself out of his daze and went over to pour himself a glass of milk.

"Um, is it your day off?" he asked as way of starting a conversation that promised to be quite awkward.

Raven took a small sip of her rapidly cooling drink. "Uh yes, they wanted me to take a few days off." Kurt grasped for something to say, but she beat him to it.

"How are your gymnastics coming?" he looked to her with shock, she'd never asked him about anything he liked or did; he didn't even know she _knew_ he did gymnastics.

"Good, I was actually going to practice."

She nodded to the counter. "Good..." he bit his lip and finished his milk.

Leaving the empty glass in the sink he walked past his mother to the back door. He looked over his shoulder and opened his mouth, again trying to find words that might alleviate the tension between them, but closed his mouth when nothing came to him.

He shook his head and left the house.

Once outside, he let the sun bathe him, drinking in the warmth. He let a true grin grace his lips and started stretching.

After a few minutes he dropped into a handstand, slowly lifting one hand off the ground to balance on one. He closed his eyes and took a breath before beginning a well practiced routine of flips and jumps.

He grinned, he was in his element, this was something he'd been born to do, and he did it well.

As he finished his set, landing in a final handstand, he opened his eyes to see his mother watching from the backdoor. He blinked several times before bending backwards and landing on his feet. He turned to her, his expression questioning.

She walked down the two steps that ended in the grass and came over to him. "I had no idea you were so talented." She stated.

He blinked a few times more, "Uh...thanks." there was that awkward silence again.

She licked her lips, before looking him in the eye; he was still a bit shorter than her, but not by much. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

"For what?" he questioned, his voice revealing none of the emotions that crashed within him.

She looked at her son, "For being so horrible, for hurting you."

His jaw dropped as he felt an unexpected wave of rage build in him. "You have seriously harmed me and you think a simple apology is going to fix that?!" he growled out and Raven looked down, ashamed, she had known that her words would mean nothing.

"You have every reason to be angry, but you have to know that I _am_ sorry." He growled and pushed by her, taking long strides to get inside.

The kitchen and living room passed by in a blur as he all but ran upstairs and to his bedroom. Once there he threw himself on his bed, fighting the tears that fought to escape.

He would not show weakness, not to her.

A little while later, he left his bed to shower, being glad not for the first time that he had his own bathroom.

After using up all the hot water he dressed in his regular baggy clothes and fell on his bed again.

There was a knock on his door that he studiously ignored.

"Kurt, may I come in?" his mother sounded quite meek and he struggled to keep from screaming at her, she didn't deserve to feel bad after the hell she'd put him through.

He closed his eyes as she called again, "Please Kurt, I want to talk." He couldn't stop the shuddering sob that escaped his throat that time.

He heard the door open and sensed his mother next to his bed. Her hand was placed on his shoulder and he tensed at the contact.

"Kurt?"

He growled a bit, "You hurt me."

"I know." Her voice was thick. "And you have no idea how much I regret it."

He looked up from his pillow. "Whenever I saw you I was scared. You know that? I was scared of my own mother. It was at a point where you weren't my mom, but a woman I saw occasionally who used me as her personal punching bag."

He caught sight of a few crystal tears falling from her eyes before she brushed them away.

"Why _now_ do you suddenly care?"

She took a shuddering breath. "The daughter of a woman I work with was in a car accident. She just heard about it yesterday and when she did, all she could ask was whether or not she was alive. She survived, but was in hospital, she ran out of the building, she didn't even take the time to tell anyone she was leaving. She works the same hours as me, you see, her daughter is eighteen and all I could think about was how I never saw you either. What if something happened to you? My son, my only child, the only person I know I'll see." She blinked away a few more tears.

"All I could think about was how much I'd hurt you. You were nearly taken from me, by _myself_. I realized that I was the one that was driving you away." She placed a hand on his cheek as he stared at her, transfixed. "That was killing you." She whispered.

"You're my son, and I should have treated you better, but I didn't, and I don't want to have someone coming up to me one day and telling me my son was dead and having never taken the time to actually be a mother and to let you know I love you."

Kurt took a short breath and looked away as his mother let her tears slip from her eyes. "You really love me?"

She nodded, "I do...I'm a stupid, _stupid_ woman." She berated herself.

Kurt swallowed, "Mom...I can't forget what you've done...but I can forgive you." She looked up, her expression was shocked.

He met her pale gray gaze with his own deep blue one. "I do love you Mom." She gave a watery smile and Kurt grinned back.

She leaned over and kissed his forehead before wrapping her arms around him. Kurt stiffened; he couldn't remember a time he and his mother had actually hugged. He relaxed and wrapped his arms around d her, squeezing her gently.

"I love you Kurt."

"I love you too, Mom." The words came easy to the both of them.

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Kitty bit her lip when she saw the car parked in Kurt's driveway. She took a steadying breath and strode up the front walk to knock on the door without hesitation. It was answered by a casually dressed Raven Darkholme.

"Oh, hello." She greeted, a small smile playing on her normally tight lips.

"Hello Ms. Darkholme...is Kurt here?" she asked, trying to dig up some courage.

"Yes, actually, why don't you come inside?" Kitty nodded and walked past Raven as she stood aside to let her in.

"He's in the kitchen." Kitty gave her a slight smile and made her way past the living room into the kitchen where Kurt sat at the kitchen table, finishing off a bowl of cereal and a book held in one hand as he read while he ate.

"Morning Elf!" she chimed and he looked up with a grin.

"Morning Katzchen!" she smiled and slid into a chair across from him.

"Whatcha readin'?"

He chuckled, "A book your sister leant me."

"Any good?"

He shrugged, "Very Gothic that's for sure."

She giggled. "So are you joining us today, or do I have to drag you?" she asked with a smile.

He smirked, "Now, you see, because I doubt that you would be able to drag me, I will save you the trouble of finding Evan, who would then have to chase me around the house until he caught me before dragging me to wherever I am be forced to today, and come with you willingly." She playfully slapped his arm and let him throw his dishes in the dishwasher before she began pulling him from the house.

He laughed at his friend's antics and called out as he was pulled through the front door. "See ya later Mom, I'm being abducted!"

Raven laughed from her place on the couch. "Have fun!"

"Thanks for the support!" another laugh greeted his sarcasm.

Kitty dragged him down the sidewalk before she stopped, giving Kurt a confused look. "That wasn't normal." She stated.

Kurt shrugged, but she could see his eyes glowing. "Let's just say my Mom got a clue sledgehammer to the head the other day."

She smiled and hugged him, "Good, 'cause otherwise I would have to get my Dad to beat on her just a little bit." Kurt laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Pulling her to him in a half hug he placed a kiss on the top of her head. "You're sweet Katzchen." She shrugged, blushing a little. She was coming to enjoy these acts of affection; she even yearned for them a little bit.

Not that she would ever admit that, nope, never.

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Wanda bopped her head to the music that thrummed through the speakers of Marie's stereo. "I had no idea you actually listened to this stuff." She stated.

Marie grinned, "Yeah, I had to borrow the CD from Kurt. I haven't exactly been able to get the hang of this one song so I'm being forced to listen to it. Evan even stole all my regular CDs so I had no choice!"

Wanda cocked an eyebrow, "He actually got away with that?"

Marie smirked, "No."

"Hello?" Kurt poked his head into the room; Kitty's poked her head in as well directly underneath his.

"You guys look like dismembered heads." Wanda remarked dryly. The two got looks of disgust on their faces.

"Now _there's_ something I don't like being compared to." Kurt stated.

"Right…sorry Spider-Monkey." Marie drawled.

Kurt glared at his friend. "Ha ha, bloody ha."

Marie shrugged and the two finally pushed open the door enough to come in. "So, what can we help you guys with?"

Kitty grinned and held out her sister's camera, "Nothing, just wanted to give this back."

"It takes two people to do so?" Marie took the camera from Kitty's hand.

The brunette shook her head, "No, but Kurt's bored and I'd rather not leave him in a room by himself where he could destroy something."

"Hey! I resent that." The three girls laughed at Kurt before he let himself grin a bit.

"Where's Evan?" Wanda questioned.

"He and his Mom went into New York for the day." The Goth nodded as the two younger teens left.

"Please don't let us halt the satanic rituals any longer."

"We don't do satanic rituals."

"Right…" Kurt and Kitty said in unison before hightailing it out of the room before they could be pummelled with pillows.

"They're annoying." Wanda stated.

"Yeah, but you've gotta love 'em." Marie replied.

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It's always fun to be home alone, you have the entire house to yourself, you can sing and dance around without a care if you so wish, maybe raid the pantry or watch movies until three in the morning.

Unfortunately, Kitty wasn't into doing those sorts of things at this point in time.

She sighed and tapped her fingers against the glass of her window as the world outside darkened. Her parents were at a kind of charity event of some sort for the college, and with Ororo being a professor there, they were obliged to go.

Marie was over at Wanda's, so that ruled out hanging with her sister so she bored out of her mind.

She glared at the street lamps as they came on before sighing for what might've been the thirtieth time in the last half hour and turning away from her window to collapse on her bed.

Normally the cream walls of her room that were decorated with pictures and posters, were comforting and like her own personal haven, but right then, it felt like a prison; one that she had entered willingly.

~_I've been hanging with Marie too much. ~_ The dark and depressing thoughts were usually _her_ thing.

She turned her head to see her dance trophies glinting in the light as they sat of the shelves that also held a few other trinkets that she'd collected over the years.

_Tap, tap, tap…_

She looked up, had she just imagined that or was it starting to rain?

_Tap, tap, tap…_

Nope, there it was again, and it didn't sound like rain. She turned her head to the window and her jaw dropped.

Kurt was hanging upside down from the eaves troughs, grinning at her through the window.

Stunned she jumped off her bed and went over to the window to open it. A cool draft of air entered and Kurt continued to grin at her, "Hello Katzchen." She stared at him. Was Kurt _really_ hanging upside down outside her window?

"So, can I come in?" she moved away from the window and he dropped in, somehow managing not to land flat on his face. It was then that she noticed he had his guitar slung over his shoulder in its case.

He grinned as he stood up and dusted himself off, "Thank you."

She stared at him, "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged, "My Mom had to go back to work and I knew you would be bored out of your mind here all alone, so I came to bestow my company upon you." She rolled her eyes but smiled anyway.

She then gave into an urge she'd had for a while know and hugged him tightly. "Thanks."

He chuckled and hugged her back. "So, what do you want to do?" he propped his guitar case up against the wall and dropped onto her bed.

She giggled and jumped to fall onto the bed beside him, "I don't know…we could always watch a movie or something." A sudden thought occurred to her. "You do realize that you are a guy and I'm a girl and we are here _alone_."

He smirked, "Don't worry, I'm not crazy. I organized this with your Dad earlier and my Mom gave her okay. The hanging outside your window was just for fun."

She sighed, "Well now I don't have to worry about my father going after you with a bat."

Kurt chuckled, "So movie?" she smiled and pulled him down to the living room.

"What are you up for?" she questioned as he stretched out across the couch.

"As long as it isn't some kind of romantic tragedy I'm fine."

She rolled her eyes, "Well there goes half the collection."

He laughed, "Any comedies or dramas?"

She perused her family's DVDs, "Well, we have a few Horrors and Slashers, but no _way_ are we watching them." She said forcefully.

"Aw come on, not even _I Am Legend_?"

She shook her head fiercely, "How do I put this nicely...I can't, hell no."

He grinned, "Okay…what about-"

"Don't say _Cujo_." She'd found out quite quickly that Kurt had a liking for scary movies.

He sighed dramatically, "Alright, alright…what about Pirates of the Caribbean?"

She grinned; "Now there's a movie I can get _on board_ with."[1]

He groaned, "No! Bad joke, _very_ bad joke!" she laughed and put the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie in before falling back onto the couch next to her friend.

They watched the movie silently for a few minutes, but by the time Jack Sparrow was saving Elizabeth from drowning, they were adding their own comments here and there.

"See, here I don't understand why he takes off his hat." Kitty waved a hand at the screen.

"Set up." Kurt replied with a chuckle. "I do have to say that they must have gotten some good trainers to teach them how to sword fight realistically."

She turned her head and cocked an eyebrow; by now she was nestled up to his side and they were both quite comfortable.

"What?"

"You say that like you know how…" she trailed off as Kurt blushed. "No way, you can _actually_ do stuff like that." She gestured to the TV and he nodded, "Yeah, I guess."

She sighed and leaned back into his chest, "You just get more and more interesting Kurt Darkholme."

He chuckled, "Should I take that as a compliment?" she nodded and stifled a yawn, smiling when his arm wrapped around her shoulders. Kurt kissed the top of her head and they continued to watch the movie.

By the time they were on the third movie Kitty was drifting in and out of consciousness.

"So," she yawned, "Are you staying over for the night?" she questioned, cuddling closer to him.

She felt him shrug, "Depends on whether or not I fall asleep." He mumbled.

She sighed, "You can stay, I don't mind."

He chuckled, "I'll keep that in mind." They both drifted off not long after.

At two o'clock in the morning, Logan and Ororo stepped in through the front door.

Ororo smiled when she stepped into the living room. "Logan, come here." She whispered.

Her husband joined her and a grin spread over his face, "Well look at that."

Kurt and Kitty were lying on the couch, well actually, Kurt was lying on the couch and Kitty was lying on top of him, her head on his chest and his arms wrapped around her protectively. They were both deeply asleep as was proven when they didn't even move when Logan turned off the TV and Ororo spread a blanket over them.

"They look good together." She mentioned as they got ready for bed.

Logan grinned, "He's a good kid too."

She smirked, "You actually trust a boy with your youngest daughter?"

Logan shrugged, "If I didn't, I wouldn't have let him come over tonight."

Ororo shook her head. "I will never understand men."

"Men will never understand women." He shot back.

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My friend uses this joke _every single freakin' time_ we watch that movie. I might just have to hurt him next time.

A/N: Not as long as I would've liked it to be, but I wanted to get it up before I left. **Please read this!** I know things are moving quite quickly in this story, but the chapters are long and I use a _lot_ of time jumps. So please don't be reviewing just to tell me. "Hey, why did this and this happen when only this and this happened in the last chapter?!" okay, I don't want stuff like that.

So thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!


	4. Bring It On

Chapter 4: Bring It On

Disclaimer: Do I own X Men?...no, no I don't.

A/N: I'm BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! Dija miss me? Well of course you did! Anyways, enjoy the chapter! (oh and this note will be at the top of each of my updates today)

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"Welcome to Xavier Institute!" Evan exclaimed as the four of them entered the main building of the high school.

Kurt looked around; everything had a very inviting feel to it, a huge step up from his previous school which could have doubled as a crack den.

"Nice." He commented.

"Marie!" Wanda pushed through the crowds of students huddling over the class lists to get to them. At the last minute, one her brother's friends, a certain Lance Alvers, elbowed her and she would have made contact with the floor...if Evan and Kurt hadn't caught her.

"Thanks boys." She grinned at them.

"No problem Scarlett!" Evan chimed and Kurt gathered her fallen books.

"You've been hanging with our dad too much." Kitty sighed.

"Hey, I got your class schedules, trust me; you do _not_ want to go in there." She gestured to the masses of teenagers, all four winced simultaneously.

"Fun." Kurt deadpanned.

"Okay, let's see..." Wanda started leafing through the stack of pamphlets she was carrying, "Monroe, Evan." She handed the envelope to the boy. "Darkholme, Kurt...Howlett, Marie and Howlett, Katherine." She finished passing out the pamphlets that contained everyone's class schedules, class number, student ID card, etc.

"Well, see you guys at Lunch I guess." Evan and Kurt looked at their identical schedules with slight fear.

"If we survive." Kurt added.

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Kurt skilfully dodged several other students. ~_I have way too much experience with this. ~_

He blew his bangs from his eyes. ~_ I really need a haircut. ~_ He thought randomly as he spotted Marie and Wanda in the sea of students headed to the cafeteria.

Using the flexibility he prided himself with he made his way quickly through the teenagers and over to the two Goth girls.

They spotted him when he was a few feet away, "Hey Blue!" the girls each grabbed one arm and pulled him the rest of the way through the crowd.

He rubbed his sore arms and gave them a lopsided grin, "Thanks."

They restarted their trek to the cafeteria. "So how's your morning been?" he questioned.

"Okay, I guess, but I swear if one more guy stares at my chest I'm going to junk punch 'em!" Wanda declared.

Kurt snorted and caught sight of Evan sitting at an empty table.

They slid into their seats, "There you are I was sure you got trampled in the rush out!" Evan grinned at his friend who shrugged.

"Eh, it's nowhere _near_ as bad as my last school. Every man for himself you know?"

Kitty shuddered as she came over, "If I haven't said it before, I never want to go to your old school."

"You _also_ don't want to meet my old girlfriend." Kurt shook his head in disgust. "Scary, scary, scary…"

Kitty giggled and rubbed his shoulder, "So what've I missed so far?"

"Well, Wanda's threatening to junk punch half the male population of the school." Kurt ducked out of the way as Wanda took a swipe at his head, unintentionally scooting closer to Kitty who forced herself not to blush.

"Which half?" she playfully mussed Kurt's hair much to Wanda's delight.

"Oh you know every guy whose got eyes and isn't Kurt or I…or doesn't value their life quite a lot." Evan added as an afterthought.

"That's for sure." Marie mumbled.

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Kurt dropped his backpack on the floor and hung up his key before stretching his arms above his head. For a first day of school, that hadn't been too bad, they hadn't even gotten any homework.

The phone rang just as he entered the living room.

He sighed, probably some person three states over trying to sell him some expensive junk that destroyed the environment. Nonetheless, he picked up the infuriating piece of technology. [1]

"Hello?"

A male voice answered, "Hello, is this the Darkholme residence?"

Kurt stared at the phone with confusion for a second before replying. "Uh yes, how can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Raven Darkholme."

"Well she's not here right now can I take a message or a number that she can call you back with?"

"Yes my number is 386-4281 and you can tell her it's her husband."

There was a 'click' as the person on the other line hung up and Kurt was left limply holding the phone and staring at the number he'd just written down.

~_Her husband? ~_

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Kitty hummed as she answered her phone. "Hello?"

"Kitty?"

"Kurt?" she blinked before smiling, "What's up?"

"Um, I need help with something."

She cocked an eyebrow, "That's not a good sign."

He gave a slightly maniacal laugh and answered with forced humour that was laced with panic, "Well, apparently my Dad just called. Or at least, it might be my Dad; he just said he was Raven Darkholme's husband." He trailed off with a laugh that was slightly creepy.

Kitty felt her eyes grow wide. "Kurt?"

"Yeah?" he answered weakly.

"You're not okay, are you?"

"No, no I'm not."

"I'll be right over."

She hung up the phone and jumped from her bed, grabbing a sweater and pulling on her shoes as she half fell down the stairs.

She rushed out the front door and down the street before she came to Kurt's house. She didn't pause in throwing open the door and racing upstairs to find Kurt hanging upside down from his bed.

She sighed and lay on her stomach on the floor so she was face to face with him.

Kitty blew on his face and his eyes fluttered open. "Hey Spider-Man."

He grinned slightly, "Hey MJ." [2]

"You doing okay?" he shook his head with a sigh.

"What if it _is_ my dad?"

She gave him a small smile, "I don't know, but you and your Mom are getting along now right?" he nodded, or at least that was what it seemed like. "Then just ask her."

He sighed, "You're right, thanks Katzchen."

She smiled and flicked his nose, making him go cross-eyed for a second, "Anytime Blue."

They remained in that position for a while, talking about nothing in particular in an attempt to burn time. They were still talking three hours later when Raven got back from work and came upstairs.

She leaned against the door frame for a few minutes before making herself known, "Hello."

The two teens jumped. "Dear Lord Mom, don't do that!"

She laughed and left the room, "Get right side up, hun, you're turning red."

"We know we're attempting to see how red he can get!" Kitty called after her.

Kurt sighed, "Guess you need to be going."

"Probably." Kurt sat up, rubbing his temples when he got a head rush. Kitty giggled, "Remember, _ask her_."

He nodded, "Thanks for coming over."

She shrugged, "No problem." She smiled, "See you tomorrow."

He nodded and she turned to leave before whipping around and giving him a fleeting kiss on the cheek.[3]"Bye." She then rushed down the stairs and out the door, her face turning redder than Kurt's had been.

Kurt blinked before grinning goofily and falling back onto his bed for a second before his caught sight of the note that'd been written down several hours earlier. With a sombre sigh he grabbed it and headed downstairs.

He found his mom moving around the kitchen to prepare dinner.

"So how was your first day?"

"Good, um Mom, someone called earlier asking for you."

She didn't turn around as she looked through the cupboard, "Oh really, who?"

"Your husband."

Raven froze and turned slowly, "My what?"

Kurt held the number out, "He called and gave me this number and said he was your husband."

She took the paper with a shaking hand, "Did you say who you were?"

Kurt shook his head, "No, he didn't ask."

She nodded, "Good, if he calls again, don't tell him who you are, okay. In fact, don't even pick up."

Kurt looked confused but nodded, "Okay, um why?"

She sighed. "Let's just order Chinese." She picked up the phone and started dialling.

"Mom? Mom…_Mom._" Raven ignored him as she placed their order and hung up.

"Mom, what's going on?" she sighed and sat at the counter.

"The only good thing that man's done is give me you." She said and Kurt sat next to her, placing a warm hand on her shoulder.

"Mom, what did he do?"

She clasped her hands and looked to him with glassy eyes. "He was horrible to me. When we were just married, it was perfect. We got the big house, in the nice part of town. He had a high paying job, he treated me like a queen, but then everything changed. He became angry and violent. And when I became pregnant with you, I was so scared I'd lose you that I avoided him best I could."

She took a shaky breath. "One night, I came home and he was drunk. He beat me senseless and when I woke up the next morning, I was sure I'd lost you…I was covered in so much blood..." She wrapped an arm around him, squeezing his shoulder.

"I went to the doctor and when he told me you were okay, I burst into tears. You have no idea how relieved I was. That night I told him straight up that I was pregnant, and for the next nine months, everything was perfect again." She paused.

"But then-after you were born, it got worse. So I did the thing any mother would do: I ran."

Kurt stared at her, "What?"

"I took you one night, packed a suitcase and ran. I took a taxi as far from the city as I could and got the first flight to Germany."

"I've never had the guts to file for divorce, I thought we were safe." She took his face in her hands, "I also have a confession, whenever I...I hit you, it was because you reminded me of him, that's a horrid reason, I know but…but you look very similar to him."

Kurt looked away. "So, I look like the man that made your life hell?"

Raven brought him into a comforting hug, "Yes and no. You have a similar facial structure and build, but otherwise, you actually look like _my_ father." She smiled, "Same hair color, same eyes," she giggled, "Same nose." She tapped it.

"Same smile, same care free attitude." She smiled as he grinned, "Same penchant for mischief." He chuckled.

Raven sobered slightly, "I won't let him have you Kurt, I promise."

He nodded. "I know Mom." His gaze became defiant, "I won't let him hurt you again either."

She blinked back tears, "Same protective streak." She whispered and hugged him tightly.

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Kurt stared blankly at the board as the teacher continued going on about sine or cosine or something like that. He couldn't really focus.

His father, his apparently _abusive_ father, knew their phone number. What else did he know?

Did he know where they lived? Probably.

Did he know where his mom worked? Maybe not, he'd called the house after all.

Did he know where he went to school? Another possibility.

Would he come after him? Maybe.

Would he go after his mom?

Definitely.

"Hey." Evan nudged his friend as the bell rang, "Earth to Kurt. Wake up."

He shook himself, "Oh, sorry Evan. Guess my mind's somewhere else." He smiled apologetically.

"You can say that again."

Kurt grinned and gathered his books, following his friend down the hall to their next class: Gym.

~_Thank God, something mindless I don't have to care about. ~_

The two boys joined the rest of their class after having changed into shorts and t-shirts.

Evan smirked and cracked his knuckles, "Oh yeah, Pietro is going down." He punched one fist into his open palm and Kurt grinned a bit before noticing something, a second class was coming in from outside.

"Alright maggots, as you might've noticed, we've got another class in here today. We'll be playing basketball. Everyone hit a court!" he threw a ball at Evan who caught it easily.

Kurt blew out, ~_Yippee. ~_

"Boo." A soft voice became known behind him and he turned to smile at Kitty who had a light pink blush decorating her cheeks.

"Kitty, hey!" he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "Well thank God I was worried I'd have to deal with Evan on my own."

She laughed. "Good to see you too Kurt."

He grinned, "So what's with the blush?"

She giggled nervously, "Nothing, my friends were just saying a few things earlier."

Kurt cocked an eyebrow, "Are they things I need to beat on them for?"

She laughed at that, "No, nothing like that, they were just teasing."

Kurt shrugged, "Alright."

She smiled before became apprehensive when he smirked, "What were they teasing you about?" his tone was playful.

She sighed, "They were just _admiring_ the new boy and I accidently let slip that you were like my best friend. Then there was the whole friend or _friend_ teasing escapade and all that fun stuff." She sighed and Kurt squeezed her shoulder.

"Eh, it'll blow over."

She smiled, "See that is why I love you Kurt Darkholme."

He smiled and took his arm from around her brushing back his hair with his hand, "I try."

"Howlett! Darkholme! Quit chatting and start playing!"

Kurt winced, "He's just King of the Fluffy Bunny Slippers isn't he?"

"I was going to say the magical unicorns' lord and emperor."

Kurt chuckled, "Hey that court's empty, what do you say?"

She sighed, "Well, I completely suck, but okay."

Kurt grinned, "Come on, you don't suck."

"You've never seen me play." She corrected.

Kurt sighed and grabbed a ball before grinning, "Alright, how about I give you a few pointers then?"

She shrugged, "It can't make me suck anymore than I already do."

He tossed her a ball and she caught it, almost fearfully. "It won't bite Katze."

She glared at the ball, him and the gym in general, "That's what you think." She said in a creepy voice.

Kurt stared at her for a second, "That's it. You are _never_ allowed to watch movies that your sister picks out _ever again_!" she rolled her eyes.

"Get to teaching Blue!" he grinned and stepped behind her.

He smirked and nudged her feet apart with one of his own, stepping forward so she was flat up against him and covered her small hands with his larger ones, moving them until they held the ball properly. He helped guide her before throwing the ball; it went through the hoop with a 'swish'.

She stared for a minute as Kurt retrieved the ball. "Did that just happen?" he grinned and tossed her the ball.

"Let's see if you can do it without my help this time."

For the rest of the class, Kurt helped Kitty steadily improve, while there was a near constant flirting between the two as Kitty became more comfortable. There were the warm smiles, brushing of hands, and slight banter.

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Raven couldn't help herself from looking to the clock throughout the entire day. She was anxious to get home, to get to Kurt.

Just like her son, she'd been going through the possibilities of what her husband might or might not know. And if he knew where her son was, she was terrified that something would happen to him.

"Raven, is something wrong?" one of her coworkers, Miranda, questioned her as she walked past the older woman's open office door.

She looked up, "I'm fine Miranda."

The younger woman entered the room, concern marring her freckled face. "It's not nothing." She placed a hand on Raven's shoulder. She looked up at the red head, her curly hair framed her face and her green gray eyes were caring.

Raven sighed, "I'm just a little anxious to get home. It seems I spend most of my life in this desk and hardly any with my son."

Miranda looked surprised, "I didn't know you had a kid. How old is he?"

"Sixteen." She took another glance at the clock and was glad to see it was time she could go home.

"I have to go now, but thank you for caring Miranda."

"No problem Raven." The petite woman headed down the hallway as Raven pulled on her black suit jacket and locked her office before leaving the building as fast as she could.

The drive home was nerve wracking and it seemed that she hit every red light on the way there.

When she finally reached her home, she was a basket of nerves and jumped at the smallest noise. Wasting no time she unlocked the front door and entered to hear the TV blaring in the living room.

She let out a sigh and closed the door, locking it before she entered the living room to see Kurt in a not so strange position if you knew him well.

The teen had pushed all the furniture against the walls and was balancing upside down as he watched TV.

"That can't be healthy darling."

Kurt snorted, "Neither can getting absolutely no sleep." She looked shocked, "You've been having nightmares." He said softly.

She sighed and dropped onto the couch, removing her glasses which she only wore to read and threw her jacket next to her. "I'll be glad when this is all over."

"You're not the only one." Kurt mumbled.

Mother and son stayed in that position for a little while. It was when the Sun had set and the street lamps were starting to come on that there was a knock on the door.

Kurt went to standing on two feet, "It's probably Kitty, Evan or Marie." Raven nodded and gave her son a smile, turning down the TV slightly.

Kurt sighed and opened the door, before freezing.

A man, who looked quite similar to him, stood in the doorway. His face betrayed no emotion whatsoever, his hair was a rusty red color and he sported a black goatee that, in Kurt's eyes, made him look decidedly evil. He was wearing expensive looking clothing and there was no doubt who this man was.

Kurt's gaze became ice cold, "Can I help you?" his tone brisk.

"I'm looking for Raven Darkholme."

"She's not here." Kurt prayed his mom wouldn't yell and ask who was at the door.

"Really? I was sure this was where she lived."

"It isn't." he replied evenly.

The man cocked an aristocratic eyebrow, "Then might I ask who you are?"

"No you may not. Please leave now."

"I'd rather not." In two quick strides he was inside and slamming the door before grabbing Kurt's arm in a tight grip.

"RAVEN!"

In the living room, Raven jumped before she scrambled from the couch and into the hallway to see something that often haunted her nightmares: Kurt caught in her husband's unforgiving grip.

He smiled cruelly, "There you are darling. Am I to guess this is our son?"

Raven glared at him, "Let go of him Azazel."

The man pretended to think; "Now I don't see how that would be in my favour."

"I won't attack you for one." She replied crisply.

Azazel laughed, "Raven you didn't fight back sixteen years ago, you won't fight back now."

"But I will!" Kurt brought his leg up into his father's stomach, leaving the man winded as he let go of Kurt.

"Run!" they ran through the house to the backdoor, they had nearly reached the back gate when Azazel tackled Raven.

"Mom!" Kurt skidded to a halt, two seconds from running back to his mom.

"Run! Get help!" he nodded and fled, his legs pumping as he raced down the dark street to the Howlett home.

His heart pounded in his ears as his vision started to fuzz out ~_No, not now! Anytime but now! I can have a panic attack later. Now is not the time! ~_ The dizziness started to set in and soon he was gasping for breath.

~_Shit! ~_ He swore mentally, hugging his stomach.

He shook his head furiously, his mother's screams still echoing in his ears. ~_Not now! ~_ He growled and forced himself to keep moving the sick feeling being pushed to the back of his mind before eventually disappearing completely.

He smirked in bitter triumph and continued his run to the Howlett home.

He started pounding on the door as soon as he got there, always looking behind him to see if he had been followed.

It was Logan who opened the door, "Elf, what's going on?"

Kurt didn't pause, "My Mom's being attacked, she needs help! He'll _kill_ her!"

Logan didn't need to hear anymore. "Stay here!" he ordered and raced back down the street.

Kurt watched until Logan's form was swallowed by darkness before he fell to his knees, hugging himself as he sobbed, now, now he could break down.

He felt a small hand on his shoulder and he looked up to see Kitty's panicked face inches from his, "Kurt, what wrong?" he shook his head.

"He's going to kill her."

"What? Who's going to kill who?"

He growled all traces of panic and fear gone. "My father's trying to kill my Mom." His expression was furious and Kitty actually felt fearful, not for herself, but for anyone who got in her friend's way.

"I'm calling the police." It was said to the air as Kurt jumped down from the porch and raced back to his house.

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Kitty paced restlessly, being watched by her mother and sister. It had been three hours since Kurt had turned up at the doorstep and two hours and forty-five minutes since police cars had surrounded Kurt's house, sirens blaring.

Marie but her lip, not only was one of her friends over there, but so was her father.

"I'm going over there." Ororo declared, standing from the couch.

"I'm coming with you." Kitty stated.

"Katherine Samantha Howlett you will do no such thing."

Kitty remained firm, "He's my best friend so yes I _will_."

Ororo sighed, "You have too much of your father in you...Get your shoes."

Several minutes later, Ororo, Kitty and Marie approached the house to see nothing reassuring. Cop cars still surrounded the place and there was no sign or Logan, Kurt or Raven.

They stood back, taking in the scene before Kitty strode forward and tapped one of the police on the shoulder. The man turned, "Can I help you."

"Yes, this is my friend's house and my father came over here earlier as well to try and help. Where are they?"

The police officer sighed, "Look miss, this isn't any place for kids."

Now Kitty did not have a short temper, but everyone snaps at some point as was proven when she stood on her tip toes to get right in the man's face. "Listen here buddy, I have been worried sick for the last three frickin' hours and you are going to tell me where they are or so help me I will be charged with attacking a police officer!" Marie and Ororo's jaws dropped and the police officer was sufficiently cowed.

"I-inside, they're inside, being questioned." He pointed a shaky finger.

Kitty smiled in a sweet, but not kind way, "Thank you." She brushed past him.

Marie shook her head at the man, "Was that _really_ so hard?" The Goth followed her sister and Ororo had to keep from laughing as she trailed after.

Kitty ducked und the police tape before carefully peeking her head into the house to see it absolutely trashed. Windows were shattered, walls had had objects thrown at them so hard the plaster was cracked, furniture was destroyed and anything not nailed down had been thrown, smashed, crushed or otherwise broken.

~_Yikes. ~_ She entered, listening carefully for a familiar voice.

"Where is she?!"

~_Ask and he shall provide. ~_ She thought and followed the sound of Kurt's voice.

She looked into the kitchen to see a furious looking Kurt sitting at the table having himself looking over by a physician.

"Mr. Darkholme, your mother is fine, but you need to sit still." Kurt's eyes flashed and Kitty saw a prospective disaster so came to the doctor's assistance.

She dove into the kitchen and threw herself in Kurt's arms. "Do something like that again and you're dead!"

Kurt seemed surprised, "Kitty?" she looked up, glaring.

"You are an _idiot_." He winced.

The doctor chuckled, "Thank you miss, you just gave me enough time to finish checking him over. If you go out to the backyard you'll find Ms. Darkholme."

Seeing Kitty's questioning glance she answered the unspoken question, "He's fine, just a few bruises."

"And my dad?"

"That gruff man with brown hair?" she nodded, "Barely a scratch on him, if I didn't know better I'd say he was a fighting master."

Kitty giggled, her dad had been 'King of the Cage' for several years before he met her mom, "Something like that."

She tugged Kurt from his seat, "C'mon." He followed quite willingly outside to find Raven and Logan being questioned by a few police officers. Raven had tears coursing down her cheeks as she struggled to keep the words coming.

"Mom!" her head snapped up and she left out a chocked sob of relief. Kurt flew into her arms and they clung to each other like life lines.

Kurt let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. "Thank God you're alright." He heard his mom whisper as she stroked his hair.

Kitty did similar with her dad, before firmly slapping his chest, "_Never_ do that _again_."

He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her before turning to the police. "I think that's everything."

They nodded, "One more thing, uh Ms. Darkholme."

"Yes?" she looked up, still keeping Kurt close to her.

"If you send the divorce papers to the station we will be sure Mr. Dianago signs them."

She smiled gratefully, "Thank you."

"You're quite welcome; now, do you and your son have a place to stay until your house has been repaired? We need to know where if we have to contact you."

"They'll be staying with us." Ororo and Marie entered the yard.

"Wonderful, if you could just us the information, we'll be on our way."

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Kitty turned in her bed, who knew this would _ever_ happen?

Kurt was currently fast asleep in a sleeping bag on her floor while his mother took the guest room. She never thought her father would ever let her sleep in the same room as a boy, never mind suggest it!

She sighed; if she kept moving around she would wake Kurt.

"You okay Katzchen?" she jumped and turned to see Kurt leaning against one arm, staring at her intently. "If me being here makes you uncomfortable I can always curl up on the couch."

"No! No, it's not that I'm just a little...confused I guess. My mind won't be quiet." He chuckled quietly and stood.

"Scoot over." She moved to the side and Kurt lay on the bed next to her. "Want to talk about it?" she sighed and curled close to him.

They spent the rest of the night chatting and by the time Ororo and Raven poked their heads in to check on them in the morning, they were curled together, fast asleep.

The two women shared a knowing look and left, "I owe Logan twenty bucks and Evan owes Marie twenty-five." Ororo thought out loud.

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Marie paged through a 'Beauty and the Beast' script, occasionally stopping and marking something down.

She looked up when she heard footsteps and grinned when she saw Kurt, dressed in black sweatpants, but nothing else.

Kurt and his mother had been living with them for a week now, and everyone was already used to seeing each other in different states of undress. For example, Kurt slept shirtless and Kitty slept in a baggy t-shirt she wore like a mini dress.

"Morning Blue."

He yawned but waved and stretched his arms above his head, "Mornin' 'Ri."

She rolled her eyes, "You should try sleeping in once in a while."

He snorted, "With my metabolism, yeah right." He yawned again and poured himself a bowl of cereal before sitting across from her.

"What're you reading?"

"I'm going to be directing the school play and I'm trying to figure out which one to do."

"What are your choices?"

"Well, I want to do a romance, and the drama teacher really wants to do a classic fairy tale so I have Beauty and the Beast," she held up the script, "Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Snow White."

"Do Beauty and the Beast, that way you'll guarantee that guys will try out. No self respecting male would play the part of some perfect, gel haired prince."

She laughed, "Thanks."

He shrugged, "No problem." She gathered up her scripts as Kurt put his bowl in the dishwasher.

He ran a hand through his dark hair, which in most lights looked indigo and headed back up the stairs, following Marie.

He stepped out of the way as his mother, Logan and Ororo hurried by him on their ways to work. While they didn't have to go to school on Saturdays, the three adults had jobs that took up their time.

"Don't blow up the house!" Raven called behind her and Kurt chuckled before tapping on the door to Kitty's, and for the time being his, room.

"You can come in!" he heard her call. The knocking had been established to avoid embarrassing situations.

He stepped in, stifling yet another yawn, to find Kitty sprawled out on her bed, still in pyjamas and grinning at him. "You know, I could grow to enjoy seeing you without a shirt on."

He chuckled at her teasing and dropped down next to her. "So, what are we doing today?" she shrugged.

"We could keep doing this."

Kurt sighed, "Mind if I fall asleep?"

She smiled slightly, "Be my guest." He grinned and closed his eyes. In about five minutes he was fast asleep. Kitty giggled and pushed his hair from his face.

She laid next to him, coming close to falling asleep herself when Marie came in. "Hey, you're awake, good."

Kitty glared at her, "I was close to sleeping and you woke me up, for shame."

The Goth shrugged and nudged Kurt, "Wakey, wakey, Blue."

He groaned and turned away from her. "Nein." Marie rolled her eyes and hit him with one of the three scripts in her hands. He growled, "Ich will nicht aufwachen, gehen Sie weg." (I don't want to wake up, go away.)

The two girls stared at him blankly, "Uh…what?"

Kurt opened his eyes, "What did you just say?" Kitty questioned and Kurt stared at her blankly before he chuckled in an embarrassed way.

"Oops."

Marie grinned, "You going to tell us why you were speaking gibberish."

"I wasn't speaking gibberish, I was speaking German…remember, I told you German was my first language."

He turned to Kitty, "Oh, right!"

He grinned at Marie, "Sometimes when I'm tired or something I speak German or my accent slips out." He shrugged, "Now, you have so rudely awakened me for some reason, what is it?"

She grinned and handed each of them a script. "I want each of you to try out for the play." They stared at the scripts like they would blow up.

"Please tell me you're joking." Kitty looked a little sick.

Marie shook her head, "Nope. I've heard you both sing, and you're really good. Please? Just to support me?" she batted her eyes and they both caved.

"Fine."

"Yes!" she hugged them both, "Kitty I want you to try out for Belle and Kurt, you have to try out for Beast." They both sighed. "And, I want to go through the script a few times, just to hear how it sounds." They both groaned but flipped them open, knowing they wouldn't get out of it.

Just when they were about to start, the doorbell rang. "Hey, where are you guys?" Evan's voice echoed up the stairs.

"Kit's room!" Marie called back.

Kurt and Kitty shared a look before leaving the bed to pull on a shirt and shorts respectively.

They'd just climbed back onto the bed when Evan walked in.

He grinned, "Hey, so what are we doing?"

Marie smirked and thrust a script into his hands and sitting him down, "We're running lines for my play and _you_ are playing Gaston." The two on the bed stifled laughs at Evan's expression.

"Say what?" that got them and they held onto each other as they laughed.

Marie's smirk widened, "Yep, you even get to flirt with Kitty!" that statement sent Kurt off the bed he was laughing so hard.

After the two teens had calmed down some, they started reading through the script. Evan spoke in monotone, like he was reading from a textbook, Kurt and Kitty performed magnificently.

Marie nearly let her jaw drop when they came to the final love scene. Her sister and friend were in complete character as they spoke the 'I love you' lines and such. Evan and Marie wondered, seeing the look in both their eyes, how much of it was actually acting.

~_Must hook them up. ~_ Marie decided.

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Kitty sighed, staring at her computer screen. Currently, she was in English class, but she'd finished her project days ago and was now bored out of her skull.

_Nightcrawler848 requests a conversation._

The message appeared on her screen with a quiet 'ping' and she quickly turned off the sound. She grinned when she recognized the pen name. She quickly clicked 'Accept'.

_Shadowcat23 has entered chat._

_Shadowcat23: Hey Kurt, aren't you supposed to be in class?_

_Nightcrawler848: Free period, I'm in the library._

_Shadowcat23: That explains it. I'm in English. (yawn)_

_Nightcrawler848: lol so I have a question._

_Shadowcat23: Shoot_

_Nightcrawler848: Have you seen the posters for the dance next week?_

_Shadowcat23: Yep, you going?_

_Nightcrawler848: Maybe…you have a date yet?_

_Shadowcat23: No. A couple of guys have asked me, but I turned them down._

_Nightcrawler848: Why?_

_Shadowcat23: (shrugs) I don't think I'd have fun with any of them. What about you, Mr. Hot Shot, I've seen about a million girls vying for your attention, going to ask one of them?_

_Nightcrawler848: (gags) Don't you know me at all? (smirk) Those girls are way to fake for me. It's like a million Amandas! (shudders)_

_Shadowcat23: lol, you're right, sorry._

_Nightcrawler848: No problem…hey I have another question._

_Shadowcat23: I like this game! Type away my German friend._

_Nightcrawler848; Ha, ha, but my question is this: Would you like to go to the dance with me?_

Kitty stared at the screen, reading, and then rereading the message several times. She felt an elated grin come to her face but quickly hid it from the teacher.

_Shadowcat23: Really?_

_Nightcrawler848: Of course, unless you know of another girl with long brown hair, aqua eyes, is fun and sweet, is an amazing dancer and lets me call her Katzchen!_

_Shadowcat23: (happy smile and blush) Thanks Blue, you're sweet…and I'd LOVE to._

_Nightcrawler848: It won't be weird?_

_Shaodwcat23: (shakes head) course not._

_Nightcrawler848: (grin) great. I'll pick you up at six to leave._

_Shadowcat23: Awesome. Oh, gotta go, the teachers coming over! See ya at lunch!_

_Nightcrawler848: Since when have I EVER skipped Lunch?_

_Shadowcat23: lol_

_Shadowcat23 has left the chat_

_Ngihtcrawler848 has left the chat._

Kurt sat back in his seat with a grin; he was taking Kitty to the dance.

~_I'm either insane, or head over heels in love with her. ~_

He thought for a minute. ~_Mixture of the two I'm sure. ~_

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[1] Technology hates me, I've left too many devices I care to count on planes and I once put my cell phone through the wash. I had to get a new one after that one was fried. Lucky me.

[2] Reference to the upside down kiss in Spider-Man. You know the one.

[3] The fleeting kiss is like my Kurtty signature, if you haven't seen it in my other stories, chances are you will eventually.

A/N: This was my favourite chapter to write. I really love the computer chat. Let me know what you think!


	5. We Are

Chapter 5: We Are

Disclaimer: Grr…if I owned the X Men, Kurt and Kitty would've gotten together _long_ ago.

A/N: I am so sorry for the lateness of this chapter! I hit major Writer's Block (which sucks) but I was able to get this chapter written out. Sorry if parts suck and if it isn't as long as some of the others are, but I thought you guys had waited long enough.

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Kurt sighed; he was finally back in his own room and in his own bed. He had to admit though, that he had liked sharing a room with Kitty, it'd been kinda nice.

He closed his eyes and let out a relaxed sigh, along with the repairs and minor renovations done, they'd also installed a high quality security system, giving both Kurt and his mother peace of mind.

Raven knocked on her son's door, "Hey, I'm off to work."

He grinned, "Alright, see ya later." She smiled and disappeared from the doorway.

The sound of her car driving off was all that he heard before absolute silence.

He blew his hair from his face and continued to stare at the ceiling. His mind was oddly blank and he was close to falling asleep when his computer let out a soft 'ding'. He jumped at the sound and fell off his bed.

"Ow..." he rubbed his head and stood from the floor to climb into his desk chair.

_Spyke46 requests a conversation._

Kurt shook his head; of course Evan would IM him this early on a Sunday morning.

_Nightcrawler848 has joined chat._

_Nightcrawler848: So is there a reason you're IMing me this early? It's 10:30 am after all; I didn't know you knew this time actually existed on the weekend._

_Spyke46: Ha, ha, very funny, Kurt. I'm actually wondering if you wanna come over? I already called K&M but they said something about dress shopping. I didn't even know Marie did dances and apparently Kitty actually said yes to someone._

_Nightcrawler848: I actually know who asked her._

_Spyke46: What?! Who? Tell me! I command thee!_

_Nightcrawler848: Thee? Did you hit your head recently? You have to promise not to kill me for the answer._

_Spyke46: Hey, I trust you. And I trust your judgement. Aside from Logan, you're probably the one person who cares the most about Kit. _

_Nightcrawler848: I'm taking her._

There was a pause and Kurt half expected Evan to come charging into his house demanding blood. Then his reply appeared.

_Spyke46: About damn time!_

Kurt was thoroughly confused.

_Nightcrawler848: What do you mean?_

_Spyke46: I mean that you guys are meant for each other. Now, I'm not about to go all teenage girl on you, but I swear that I've never seen her look at any guy, the way she looks at you._

Kurt stared at the screen.

_Nightcrawler848: Wait, you aren't going to kill me? You actually...approve? (and by the way, the non-sarcastic ness is starting to freak me out)_

_Spyke46: Insert loud duh! Here._

_Nightcrawler848: (there it is) Ha. Very funny, but seriously...you think she likes me?_

_Spyke46: ...You really like __her__ don't you?_

_Nightcrawler848: -tired sigh- yeah. _

_Spyke46: Wow, that's kinda cool. Two friends getting together movie style. _

_Nightcrawler848: A little soap opera-ish though, don't you think?_

_Spyke46: So? _

_Nightcrawler848: (no comment)_

_Spyke46: -grin- good, now go find yourself a good suit, order her flowers and arrange a ride to the dance!_

_Nightcrawler848: I've had that all planned out since the day I asked her._

_Spyke46: You scare me._

_Nightcrawler848: Thank you –smirk-._

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"How about this one?" Kitty stepped out the change room in a pink, flowery dress.

Marie cringed and covered her eyes, "The horror!"

Kitty sighed angrily and stalked back into the change room. "There's nothing in this store!" she exclaimed as she pulled her regular clothes of a t- shirt and jeans on.

"Relax, Kit, we'll find ya something." Kitty stared at her sister doubtfully as she came back out and they left the store, the _sixth_ store they'd been in so far.

"Okay, well let's start from square one. What kind of dress do you want? Fun, flirty, sexy-"

Kitty slapped a hand over her mouth, "Quick note, let's stay away from the last one, we're just going as friends."

Marie pushed Kitty's hand from her mouth, "You know you haven't told me _who_ you're going with. If you did I might be able to give you a bit more assistance." Marie stated as they started walking again.

Kitty groaned and fiddled with her ponytail, "I'm going with Kurt."

Marie was the one who stopped them this time. "Kurt? As in our friend and neighbour: Kurt Darkholme?"

Kitty nodded closing her eyes, but they flew open when her sister started hugging her to death. "Marie!"

The Goth pulled away, "Thank _God_, I've been waiting long enough for you guys to go out."

"We aren't-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You _will_ be after the dance. Now, do you want to wear something he'll expect, something in your favourite color, his favourite color, a color you know he likes you in. Oh, and we have to figure in the lighting for the dance. You _have _to look good and lighting is always an important thing to consider..." Kitty sighed as Marie continued to ramble on about lighting and fabric while she blocked her out, letting her mind drift.

As normal, it drifted to Kurt.

His favourite color was cerulean blue but he said once he loved her in aqua, it matched her eyes, he said… ~_Wait a second! That's it! ~_

"Marie." The girl snapped her mouth shut. "I have an idea." The older girl smiled brightly, "Finally!

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Ororo smiled sadly to herself as she listened to her daughters prepare for the dance. Her girls were growing up so fast; it seemed like just last month she married Logan and like yesterday that she'd been in the hospital holding her little girls.

She shook her head, yes her girls were getting older, but that wasn't anything to be sad about. She could now look forward to the future. Watching them get married and have their own children would be wonderful and if she died after having seen them make their own lives, and maybe more with her grandchildren, then she would die a happy woman.

She nodded to herself, yes, that was a good plan.

There was a smattering of laughter above her head from Kitty's room.

~_I just hope I don't get grandchildren before they're married. ~_

She trusted her girls, of course, and having seen the look in Kurt's eyes when he looked at Kitty, she also trusted him. He had the same look on his face that Logan got in his when he looked at her.

The laughter increased and Ororo giggled herself.

Yes everything was fine.

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Kitty smiled at her reflection, it was the night of the dance and she was had just put the finishing touches on her look for the evening.

"Hey Kit, you ready? It's nearly six. Prince Charming will be arriving soon." Marie's voice drifted through the door and Kitty giggled.

"I'll be right down Marie." Taking a few seconds to put on her shoes, redo her lip-gloss and double check her hair, she grabbed her small beaded clutch and left her room.

Her heartbeat increased when the doorbell rang and she took a calming breath before opening the front door.

Kurt stood looking so different than usual that her breath caught. His naturally straight and slightly messy hair was tidy and his grin wasn't teasing but gentle and warm. He was dressed impeccably in a blue black suit and white dress shirt, somehow managing to look formal and casual at the same time.

His smile widened when he saw her, "Good even milady." He gave a sweeping bow. She giggled and he grinned in a more familiar fashion. "Shall we?" he held out his arm and she took it. "I'll have her back by eleven." Kurt called to the Howlett parents.

"Have fun!" Ororo called.

"I'll meet you guys there." Was Marie's reply.

The two laughed and Kurt led her down the path to where a black car waited. "Yeah, guess I never mentioned that I have my license." She sighed dramatically before smiling.

Kurt took the time it took to walk to the car to admire his date for the evening. Kitty's normally ponytail was gone, her hair cascading down her back in gentle waves and seeming to float around her bare shoulders. Her dress was aquamarine and spaghetti strapped, but a deep blue sash wrapped loosely around her waist, the ends falling to one side. A silver chain hung around her neck and she wore light blue crystal stud earrings.

"You look beautiful." He whispered softly, rewarded when a pale pink blush came to Kitty's cheeks.

"Thank you, you look fairly handsome yourself." He grinned and opened the passenger side door for her.

She did a playful curtsy before getting in. The door closed behind her and it was then she noticed a corsage on the dashboard. Kurt grinned as he got in the car.

"Like it?" he slipped the white rose over her wrist. She smiled and nodded, the drive to the school was spent in comfortable silence.

They entered the gym arm in arm and Evan quickly appeared. "Hey it's the lovebirds!"

They rolled their eyes, "So where's your date?" Kitty questioned.

Evan chuckled, "Going stag, just like plenty of the girls here. Now, if you excuse me, I will be spending my night seducing half the female population." He disappeared in the crowd just as a slow song came on.

"Care to dance?" Kurt asked.

Kitty smiled and took his hand, "I'd love to." He led her onto the dance floor and into a warm embrace. His arms snaked around her waist and she placed her hands on his shoulders.

They started in that simple embrace, but then it changed; Kitty wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head against his chest. His arms brought her closer and he rested his chin on the top of her head.

They took no mind of the people around them, simply moving in a slow, small circle as the song progressed.

When a fast song came on they left the dance floor to stand off to the side, talking quietly.

They were watched the entire time by Wanda and Marie, Evan currently being shot down by a red head near the punch bowl.

"This is almost too cute." Wanda muttered good naturedly.

"So?" Marie smirked.

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Kitty leaned back against Kurt as they watched everyone else dance.

"Having fun?" Kurt's voice tickled her ear.

She turned her head to smile at him, "Of course…thanks for asking me, by the way." He grinned and wrapped his arms around her thin waist, hugging her from behind.

"Katzchen, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

He looked out over the students, trying to find the correct words for what he was about to say and ask. "How do you feel about me?"

Her thoughts halted ~_Do or die I guess. ~_

"Well…you're my best friend, the first person I've been able to be myself with that I wasn't related to and…I really like you." The last four words were whispered.

Kurt's arms tightened around her, "Thank God." She turned in his arms, confused until she saw the happy smile on his face.

His eyes shone and he leaned down, his forehead against hers. Her stomach flipped with nerves, was he about to do what she thought he was?

His lips touched hers; gently brushing them until she kissed him back and they were caught up in the embrace.

This was better than any of her fantasies. He _knew_ how to kiss, while this was her first. That thought didn't bother her as he taught her in a quite pleasant way.

They broke away for air and Kitty smiled, "Be my girlfriend?" Kurt asked and she nodded vehemently.

"Yes, you have no idea how long I've wanted you to ask me that question!" he laughed and drew her to him for another kiss.

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Kitty woke up the next morning with the biggest smile on her face. She sighed and rolled over; ~_Wish it hadn't been a dream. ~_ It had been so realistic too.

Her phone started ringing the familiar tune of Nickelback's 'If Today Was Your Last Day'. She grinned and picked it up, pressing the talk button.

"Morning Kurt."

"Good morning liebling!" she giggled, "Just thought I'd remind you that last night wasn't a dream" he sing-songed.

She gaped at the phone. "Can you hold for a second?"

"Sure."

She set down the phone before calmly screaming happily into her pillow.

When she picked the phone back up she could hear laughter on the other side. "Sorry, you were saying."

Kurt laughed again, "I was wondering if you'd join me on a little shopping trip into New York."

"Special occasion?" Kurt hated shopping, but he usually went with her if she asked.

"Yep, my mom's birthday is in a few days."

"Great! I'll be over in half an hour."

"I'll start the timer!" she laughed and hung up the phone, yes they were officially dating but that didn't stop them from teasing each other.

Think of it as being best friends but having all that good stuff like kissing and chocolates on Valentine's Day.

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"Next!"

Marie groaned and hit her head against the table top as the most recent audition participant left the auditorium.

"Anybody besides me want to carve their eyes out with a spoon?" she spoke into the desk top.

"More likely I'll be killing myself with one of the scripts." Jubilee replied.

"These people can't act!" Wanda exclaimed.

Jubilee sighed, "Who's next?"

"Kurt Darkholme and Katherine Howlett." Marie perked up as the two entered the auditorium hand in hand.

"Alright you two, show us what you got. You'll be doing a few scenes. We'll start with the scene where Belle meets the Beast and move on into a few of the songs." Marie organized her stack of papers.

The two on stage nodded and opened their scripts to that page.

Jubilee, who had buried her face in her arms, looked up in surprise when they started the scene, her jaw dropping. Wanda looked to Marie in happy shock, the Goth just smirked.

When the scene was finished, all three of the girls gave them a standing ovation.

"Woohoo! _Finally_, some real acting!" Jubilee exclaimed. Kurt and Kitty laughed.

"Okay you guys, here's the song I want you to sing, start when I tell you to." Wanda, being one of the stage managers, hopped up on stage and handed them the sheet music.

The song passed perfectly as well and Jubilee was bouncing in her seat.

"Do we really have to audition anyone else?" she whined once Kurt and Kitty had left.

Marie nodded, "Yes Jubes, we do. We still have to cast everyone else. Hopefully we'll find someone half decent."

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Marie weaved through the crowds of students to get to the bulletin board. Quickly, as to avoid being trampled when people noticed what she was putting up, she tacked up the cast list for the play. Once done, she dodged out of the way as people crowded around the board, alternating between shouts of excitement and groans of disappointment.

Kurt and Kitty, who apparently were now joined at the hip as it was hard to find one without the other, came up behind Marie.

"So, how'd the casting go?" Kurt questioned an arm around Kitty's waist as she leaned into him.

Marie shrugged, "Okay, I guess, we got two _really_ good people to play Beast and Belle." They nodded and went through the thinning crowd to see who got what part.

Marie smirked at their backs ~_Three, two, ~_ "What the?!"

They came back looking shocked; "You cast _us_ as the leads?"

She nodded, her arms crossed, "Yep, you guys were the best."

They sighed, "We aren't getting out of _this_ either are we?"

She shook her head, "Nope."

"Great." Kitty deadpanned.

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Evan whistled, hands in his pockets as he strolled down the hallway of the school. So far, he'd been able to avoid been dragged into the play by his cousin and he intended it to stay that way.

Fate, unfortunately, had other plans.

"Hey! There you are!" Evan winced when he saw it was Kurt who had a hold on his upper arm.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Kurt smirked, "If I have to suffer by the hands of Marie, so do you." Evan groaned as he was dragged down the hall towards the theatre.

Once there, it was to find the room like a hive of bees. Students were everywhere carrying props; work in progress costumes and those on stage were rehearsing at the same time others were working on the sets.

"Kurt, you found him!" Wanda strode up, carrying a clipboard and bucket of paint with a paintbrush.

"Look Wanda I-"

"Nope, you aren't getting out of this. Here." She handed him the paint, "One of your best classes is Wood shop, so get to work building the sets..._please_." the last part sounded slightly like a beg and Evan sighed in defeat.

"Sure, why not...as long as I don't have to be on stage."

"Done." He shook his head and took the paint can, heading towards the construction area.

"Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go." He sang in a sarcastic tone, just loud enough for Wanda to hear. The Goth started laughing and walked to another area of the auditorium where there was work that needed her supervision.

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Kitty smiled brightly as Kurt spun her out and then back into him, it was firmly decided that dress rehearsals were the best things on earth.

One: she got to wear absolutely amazing costumes.

Two: She spent a bunch of time dancing with Kurt.

Three: Stage kisses, and let's just leave it at that.

They finished the dance and bowed/curtsied to each other.

"Cut!" Marie called and there was some applause from the students that had been watching the rehearsal.

"Great job you guys. Now, I want everyone to keep working on their lines, you should have the memorized by the time we get back from Christmas vacation in a few months, just a heads up. So everyone head home and the next rehearsal is on Thursday."

Jubilee walked up, pushing her sunglasses up to rest of her head, "Translation: Get your asses home so we can leave!" Everyone laughed and started collecting their things and leaving to take off their costumes.

Kurt shrugged out of the overcoat he had to wear and started removing the blue face paint he was being forced to wear. Marie, while sticking to the basic story line, was changing a few things in the script. Like instead of being a giant, hairy beast, Kurt was dressed as a blue demon creature, complete with pointed ears and fangs.

He finally got the rest of the paint off and started changing into his regular clothes. While the paint was going to be used for most of the scenes, they were going to use a thick plastic like substance that would be spread over his face and easy to peel off for the transformation scene. [1]

"Knock, knock." Kitty announced herself as Kurt pulled his shirt on.

He turned and grinned at her, "Hey, you ready to go?"

She nodded, "Yep…you know, I've gotta say, you look quite cute as a demon."

Kurt chuckled, shaking his head, "Yeah, yeah, maybe that'll be my costume for Halloween."

They left the back stage area and walked out on stage to see everyone else either helping pack up, or in the process of leaving.

Kurt flipped nimbly from the stage, somersaulting in the air to land on his feet. The first time he'd done so after practice, people had not only stared, but several stage hands had yelled at him for being reckless.

He'd just laughed and climbed back on stage and proceeded to take a running jump from the stage. Doing numerous difficult flips in the air and land in a handstand on the backs of one of the chair in the audience.

People had again stared, but no one yelled at him for being reckless.

Kurt grinned and helped Kitty from the stage by lifting her by her waist to place her on the ground beside him. He slung an arm over her shoulder and she leaned into him as they left.

"So, what's the plan for the rest of the night?" Kitty questioned as they left the auditorium.

Kurt shrugged, "Hmm, well, how about I take you out for dinner and a movie?" he smirked.

She gave him a playful glare, "You planned that didn't you?" he chuckled and hugged her to his side.

"Now why would you think that?"

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Marie thumbed through the script, adding notes here and there. Beyond the double doors she could faintly hear the sounds of the other students heading to lunch. And she should have been with them, but she couldn't, because thanks to a group of students suddenly deciding to drop out of the play, she now had to re-work the script, with about ten actors missing.

She groaned and ran her hands through her hair, causing it to stick up in several places.

"Something wrong Cherie?"

She groaned again and just kept herself from bashing her head against the table.

"What do you want Swamp Rat?"

She heard a deep chuckle and the sound of the chair beside her being pulled from the table.

"Why can't Remy just be here to help?"

She rolled her eyes, "Because you _always_ have an alternative reason for being helpful, and usually, it doesn't really do me any good!"

"Remy is hurt that you would think such things of Remy." his voice was teasing and Marie scowled.

"Well too bad it's true then huh?!" she finally whipped her head around to look at him.

Remy 'Swamp Rat' LeBeau was the poster boy for casual confidence at that very moment. From his posture of leaning back in his chair as he lazily shuffled a deck of cards, to his outfit of combat boots, baggy jeans, and a tighter grey and red t-shirt, he showed no outward signs of stress or anything of the like.

She glared at him but he just grinned, his deep brown eyes sparkling with mirth.

"So are you going to accept Remy's offer?"

Marie admitted defeat and crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair, "First tell me what it is and then _maybe_ I won't get a few people to make your life hell." No doubt Kurt and Evan would _love_ to have a crack at the boy if she told them he was driving her insane. And if that didn't work, well, her dad could always use some batting practice.

Remy gave her a smile, "What if Remy told you, that Remy could get you _more_ than enough actors to fill those empty slots? Would you trust Remy?"

Marie let a small smirk come to her lips, "I'd thank you, but I doubt I'd ever trust you…What do you want in return?" she asked suspiciously.

He shrugged, "Nothing, but maybe Cherie wouldn't mind coming to a movie with Remy?"

She rolled her eyes, "Keep speaking in third person and Marie will bypass her friends and use the bat herself!"

Remy held up his hands in surrender, "Okay, how about just pizza? Broad daylight, you can even drive yourself."

Her shoulders slumped, "You won't try anything?"

Remy smiled, "Now why would I do that?" he finished with a smirk.

Marie groaned ~_Why me? ~_ "Fine. Pizza, no longer than two hours and only _after_ the play is finished."

Remy grinned, "As you wish Cherie! I'll have your replacement actors here tomorrow!" and with that, he left.

Marie groaned and hit her head against the table.

~_Why me? ~_

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[1] There is a type of stage make up that does that. My friend had to wear it for one school play, he hated it.

A/N: And I give you Romy! Yes, yes, I know, you love me for it! Ha ha

Now, review, I will love you. And maybe the reviews will inspire me (hint...HINT)


	6. The Halloween Oriented Chapter

Chapter 6: The Halloween Oriented Chapter

Disclaimer: Uh uh.

A/N: Wow, it's been a long time since I updated, and I am so sorry for that, but sometimes it can't be helped.

**Several things are set up in this chapter that will come back into play a little later, and of course, in honour of the amazing holiday today, this chapter shall hold Halloween as a clear figure.**

So enjoy!

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Kurt stared at the page like he wished it would burst into flame, which actually, wasn't that far from the truth.

Sitting across from him with an amused expression, Marie checked her watch to see that Kurt hadn`t looked up for ten minutes straight.

"So...the paper and you get in a fight or something?"

Kurt growled, "Böse. Zuteilung. Fällig. Morgen." (Evil. Assignment. Due. Tomorrow.)

Marie quirked an eyebrow but didn't get to respond as Kitty and Evan dropped into their seats beside her and Kurt.

Evan looked to his best friend along with kitty, "Dude, what's up?"

Kurt growled again and grabbed the paper as he stood quickly, crumpling the page in his hand. He left the table, his movements jerky and angry as he stalked away. His murderous expression causing people to give him a wide berth.

They stared after their friend with shock. They all exchanged glances before Kitty stood and followed after her furious boyfriend.

She found him outside, far from everyone else and pacing back and forth underneath a few trees, the paper still clenched in his fist.

Kitty walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. His head turned sharply as he glared at her, no not at her, past her. He wasn't angry with her, he was just angry.

"You okay?" she asked softly, bringing her other hand up to cup his cheek. He sighed and the tension in his muscles lessened as he leaned into her touch, bringing on hand up to keep her hand to his skin.

"No. Not really."

She tugged him over to sit underneath one of the trees and he sat gratefully. She took up her place on his lap, sitting sideways so she could rest her head on his shoulder.

"So what is it?"

He sighed, "You know how I'm originally German right?" she nodded, "Well...we got an assignment in History relating to the Holocaust and Nazis and such. Well, anyway, we have to write a paper on, basically, how evil Hitler was and how much death was brought on and..." he growled and buried his face in Kitty's hair, shaking with suppressed rage.

"I _know_ that vhat my people did vas vrong, but do they _have_ to show it like all Germans are bad?!"

Kitty hugged him, a little shocked at how much this was affecting him, plus the fact that it was the first time he'd actually spoken with an accent also added to her stunned silence.

He stopped shaking, but he still spoke with venom, "And then, of course, after class, a few people came up to me. They said how I would turn out just like the _Nazis_," he spat out the word like a swear, "And hurt you because of your Jewish heritage!"

Kitty tightened her grip on him until Kurt could barely breathe, "I don't believe that, and you know that wouldn't happen. You are so much better than them. You're sweet and funny and kind. And..." she trailed off and Kurt looked up.

"And what?" his accent now under control.

She looked to him and made eye contact, drinking in the familiar face and eyes, "And...and I love you." She whispered.

They kept eye contact for several seconds before Kurt leaned in and placed his forehead against hers.

"_You_ are beautiful, intelligent, witty, charming and absolutely wonderful. And I love you too."

Kitty blinked before closing the distance between them and placing a soft kiss on his lips to which he returned happily.

He pulled away for a second, his eyes bright and clear, "Thank you Katzchen." She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Anytime Blue."

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Raven tapped at the keyboard in a bored fashion before she was jolted from her trance by the shrill ringing of her phone.

Pushing the speakerphone button, she answered before the third ring could finish, "Raven Darkholme."

"Ms. Darkholme, this is Vice Principal Grahm, I'm calling about your son."

Raven's full attention was now on the voice coming from the phone, "Is he alright?"

"Yes ma'am he's fine, but I need you to come down to the school. A few of his recent actions require disciplinary action and we need you here." Raven stared at the phone in shock. Kurt misbehave? The only time he did anything like that was if it was to help someone else.

"Exactly what did he do?" she questioned crisply.

Apparently the vice principal was slightly frightened by her frigid tone as his reply was a little shaky; "He's been back talking his teacher and has gotten into fights with several other students."

"And have you taken the time to get his story?"

There was a sigh, "The lad refuse to speak in English ma'am."

Raven quirked an eyebrow and quickly shut down her computer, "I'll be right down." She stated hanging up the phone.

Fifteen minutes later, she strode into the office to see Kurt sitting in one of the chairs opposite the secretary's desk. A cold glare on his face matched with a frown. His eyes were more relatable to iced over cobalt as he kept his arms crossed tightly over his chest.

In all, he was like a mirror image of her when she was angry.

Raven, instead of going over to the waiting vice principal, went and crouched in front of Kurt.

"Was geschah Liebling?" (What happened darling?)

He sighed and shot a look a boy at the other side of the office. He had shaggy brown hair and wouldn't have looked out of place in a seedy bar.

"Nazis und ihm." (Nazis and him.) he stated coldly.

Raven repressed a smirk; of course her always proud son's usually even temper would be set off by remarks about his heritage.

She nodded, "Right." Standing, she straightened her skirt and strode over to the vice principal.

"My son was not the one to start the fight. From what I can understand, they were speaking about the Holocaust in history?" Mr. Grahm nodded slowly, "Well it appears that some students," she shot a glare at the boy who jumped a little in his seat and cowered back slightly, "Decided to bait him."

Mr. Grahm opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off, "I've taught my son to be proud of his heritage, and I would appreciate it if you kept your teachers and students aware of the fact that there are many cultures in the world."

She went and placed a hand on Kurt's shoulder as he stood, "And I would also like to remind you, that Germany is not the only country with a violent history." She finished.

Kurt grinned a bit ~_Go mom. ~_

Mr. Grahm nodded, looking scared, "Y-yes ma'am. We'll be sure to do so, but there is the fact that"

"I'll be sure to report to detention tomorrow Mr. Grahm." Kurt cut off the older man, now speaking clear English.

The Darkholmes left the office, and headed to Raven's car. Kurt jumped in the passenger seat, tossing his backpack in the back seat as he buckled himself in. As Raven started the car, she looked to Kurt and grinned.

"What?" he asked.

She sighed, laughing as she pulled out of the parking lot, "You take after me so much."

Kurt laughed.

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"Detention huh, that sucks." Evan spoke into the phone as he bounced a ball against his wall. On the other line, and actually just across the street, was Kurt.

"Tell me about it, but at least my mom didn't ground me." Said German replied as he finished a calculus equation.

Evan snorted, "Yeah, if I had been in your place, my ass wouldn't be leaving this house for at _least_ a week."

Kurt grinned slightly, "Weird huh?"

"Very." Evan agreed.

Evan threw the ball and bounced it off his wall again to catch it in his free hand, "So what are you doing for Halloween?"

Kurt sighed, "No idea. I guess I'll see what Kitty wants to do."

Evan made a 'whip' noise and Kurt rolled his eyes.

"I am _not whipped!_ " Evan snorted again.

"Shut up. I'm just fine with whatever you know?"

"Uh huh, sure. Whatever you say."

"_Evan_."

"My lips are sealed."

"Good."

Evan sighed and paused his throwing and catching, "Hey, I need some advice."

"Wow, we've gone from teasing me to asking for advice, I'm contemplating hanging up." Kurt teased.

"I'm serious! I need some serious help."

"Get a therapist."

"_Kurt!"_

Kurt laughed, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. What's up?"

"Well, I haven't been on a decent date since...Calypso, and I am seriously wondering if there's something wrong with me."

"Um, hello, dude, I think that it's insane to think you _need_ to have a girlfriend."

"That's because you _have_ one."

"Yeah, but you forget, I hadn't dated anyone since Amanda. And that was, what, a year ago?"

Evan sighed, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Don't doubt the Elf!" Kurt proclaimed.

"Now who needs to shut up?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever...Porcupine."

"Hey!"

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"I _love_ Halloween!" Marie exclaimed as she, Kitty, Evan and Kurt walked around the mall that was decked out in black, and orange with pumpkins, skeletons and werewolves _everywhere_.

"We noticed." Evan stated.

Marie turned and gave them a playful glare, "Come on, you guys are excited for the Halloween party right?"

Kurt groaned and they all gave him a look, "What?"

He shook his head, "Bad experience with a Halloween party, don't ask."

"We're asking." Kitty grinned. He glared at her but wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him.

"No, you don't want to know. Trust me, it involves Amanda." She shuddered.

Kitty giggled, "It can't be that bad."

"Oh no? Her costume was a playboy bunny."

That made everyone freeze as Kurt shuddered again.

"Ew." Evan stated.

Kurt nodded.

"Okay!" Marie quickly changed the topic from Kurt's ex-slut-I mean girlfriend. His ex-_girlfriend._

"How about we try and find some costumes that aren't as disturbing?"

They all nodded and allowed themselves to get pulled into a costume store that wasn't _completely_ packed.

Marie quickly started to the vampire costumes, leaving Evan to wander around with no particular direction and Kitty and Kurt to watch the shoppers with slight fear, but mostly amusement.

"Hey, Kurt, I found something for you!" Marie came over and held up a devil costume.

Kurt bent over laughing, "Marie…I'm going to be a demon for an entire week, in front of millions of people, I think I'll take something different. Thanks though."

Marie huffed, "Come on, it'd be cute. Kitty could dress as an angel."

"Well that's better than a cat like when I was five." Kitty stated as she perused the racks.

Kurt admitted defeat, "Fine, fine. I'll wear it."

"Yay!" Marie hugged him with surprising strength, causing Kurt to wonder if he was going to be bruised.

"Um, someone mind helping me here?"

Evan came over and pulled the Goth form his friend.

"She gets very excited around Halloween."

"Yeah I got that." Kurt mumbled as he cracked his neck and back.

Kitty giggled and pulled down an angel costume.

"You know, I like Marie's idea." She said as she held the costume up to herself.

Kurt smiled and nodded, thinking the costume would fit her personality perfectly.

~_Yeah, I'm in love. ~_ He thought.

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"'Ro, do we _have_ to go to this thing?"

Ororo smiled at her husband, "The kids are going to the Halloween party at the school and I said we could chaperone. It won't be that bad."

"'Ro, the only thing that could be worse than this is orange spandex."[1]

Ororo gave him a placating smile, "I think you look handsome."

"You _picked_ the costume. Of course you think that!"

Ororo sighed and fixed her husband's tie, "Now tell me what's wrong with it? It's just a suit."

Logan grumbled something about only wearing a suit for a wedding causing Ororo to roll her eyes.

"Well then it's convenient what I'm going as, isn't it?"

Ororo had signed herself and Logan up to be chaperones for the school party. And seeing as it was a Halloween party, everyone was supposed to dress up. This had struck Ororo with inspiration and now she and Logan were dressed as Victor and Emily from Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.[2]

"We're leaving!" Ororo heard Kitty call.

Logan grumbled something else that Ororo sent him a hard glare for as she left their room.

"Alright, we'll be there in a little while. How are you getting there?" she questioned.

"Kurt's driving." Marie informed her.

She smiled at her daughters, "Alright, well have fun and I promise, you're father and I won't embarrass you in any way."

Kitty sighed, "You'll find a way, mom."

Ororo shrugged, "You're right. Now shoo, you're ride's waiting."

The girls laughed and ran out the door. Ororo watched from the living room window as Kurt greeted them. Evan poked his head out the window and seemed to yell something that had Marie hit him on the back of the head as she slid into the backseat with him.

She couldn't stop herself from smiling as Kurt kissed Kitty before opening the door for her.

She sighed, remembering how Logan would always do that for her.

~_Not that he still doesn't. ~_ She chided herself as she went back upstairs.

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The party was in full swing when they arrived, causing Kitty to stare slightly.

"Wow, that's a _lot_ of strobe lights."

Kurt nodded and helped her from the car. They weren't super dressed up; it wasn't like they were wearing full body suits, but it was still obvious what they were.

Kurt had the devil horns of course, and was wearing a red tunic and black pants. Kitty was wearing a layered white and gold skirt that reached mid thigh, and a bell sleeved white shirt that was corseted together at the front with gold ribbon. She had white high heels on and a gold circlet on her head for her halo.

Rogue was in a long, blood red dress, a bat charm hung from a black choker around her neck and she had on the stereotypical vampire cape. Evan had surprised them all and had spiked his hair, wore a brown t-shirt and brown pants and was calling himself a porcupine.

[Flashback]

Kurt stared in silent shock at Evan who had just come into his house, already in his costume.

"What are you?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm a porcupine!"

Kurt just shook his head.

"The world is coming to an end."

[End Flashback]

It seemed like _everyone_ in the school had come to this dance, unlike the Homecoming where maybe half of the student body had attended and Kitty could see why the school wanted extra chaperones.

"Come on, let's dance! Marie grabbed Kurt and Kitty and pulled them onto the dance floor. They just laughed and went along with it, Kitty taking the time to grab Evan's arm.

Unlike the last dance where couples had been _everywhere_ now there were more groups of friends dancing together, something a lot of the chaperones were thankful for.

Kurt spun Kitty then handed her off to Evan who did the same causing the girl to laugh, they repeated this with Rogue.

~_God I love these boys! ~_ Marie thought.

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Ororo watched with amusement as Logan broke up a couple from Frenching in the corner. Even though he was currently turning a blind eye to how closely Kurt and Kitty were dancing, but that was probably because he didn't want his daughter hating him forever.

She sighed and pulled him away from the teens before they started crying hysterically.

"Alright honey, that's enough, you've made your point."

"Look, you told me to chaperone and I'm chaperoning!"

She smiled, "Thank you, but will you relax? Let the kids have some fun."

He grumbled something beneath his breath so, double checking they weren't being watched, leaned up and kissed him warmly. When she pulled away, Logan was looking calm and he was smiling slightly.

"So, fun, huh?"

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"Hello Cherie!"

Marie groaned and turned around; he just _had_ to be here didn't he.

"Yes Swamp Rat?"

Remy smiled, "Remy was just hoping the replacements he got were doing a good job."

She sighed, "Yes Remy, the students you enrolled are doing very well, thank you." She fought to stay polite.

"Wonderful! Now, would Cherie like to join Remy for a dance?" he grinned.

She levelled a glare at him, "You do know my father's chaperoning right?"

"Yes, Remy does, but if Remy is not incorrect, that is your petite sister dancing with her boyfriend right there." He pointed Kurt and Kitty who were dancing close enough that there was next to no room between them.

She glared again, "Your point?"

"Well, if the petite chat (cat) can be that close with her boyfriend, why can Cherie not be close to Remy?"

Marie crossed her arms, "Because my dad _trusts_ him. Unlike you, who has an insane disciplinary record!"

Remy actually looked ashamed as she said those words, but Marie was having a hard time believing his sincerity.

"Very well, Remy shall try this a different way then." He said softly before closing his eyes for a second before opening them and giving her a warm smile that was devoid of sarcasm or his regular cocky confidence.

"Would you like to dance Marie?"

She blinked a few times as he held out his hand. She gave him a calculating stare and he just smiled.

"I promise I'll keep my hands in the clear. You've got three guys just _waiting_ to kick my ass if I step over the bounds."

She waited for a pause before sighing and taking his offered hand.

"You'd better keep that promise, Kurt's got a wicked right hook and Evan could chase after you for a few blocks if need be." She told him as she placed her hands on his shoulders.

Remy felt his stomach jump with excitement and nerves as she started dancing with him, he didn't think she'd actually accept and it was driving his heart _crazy!_

"I'll keep that in mind Marie." He said as they continued dancing.

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Kitty closed her eyes as she leaned against Kurt, sighing softly. He in turn held her closer. By now she really had no clue what song was playing, all she could hear was Kurt's heartbeat.

Kurt smiled to himself and started humming softly, causing Kitty to smile.

His humming turned into soft words as he sang to her, "It's really good to hear your voice, saying my name it sounds so sweet. Coming from the lips of an angel, hearing those words it makes me weak. Let it die, never wanna say good bye. But girl you make it hard to faithful...with the lips of an angel."[2]

Kitty smiled again, loving the feeling of being in his arms. This...was her heaven.

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Lance glared at the couples on the dance floor. He glared even harder, and crushed the paper cup in his hand when he saw Kitty and Kurt.

"Stupid Nazi." He muttered.

Behind him the other 'bad boys/social outcasts' watched the rest of the students with bored or yearning expressions.

"Cut it out Todd, you're drooling."

Todd Tolansky didn't seem to hear him as he continued to staring at Wanda.

John also looked over the crowd as he played with the lighter in his hand, flicking it open and closed, open and closed.

Lance grinded his teeth as the snap, flick, snap flick started grating on his nerves.

"Would you cut that out!" he snapped.

John lifted an eyebrow at him but stopped anyway, but that was probably because a dark skinned young girl was walking over towards them.

"Is that a girl?" Fred Dukes asked in a dumbstruck tone.

"Hey John, would you like to dance?" the Brazilians girl asked the Australia native.

He stared with a shocked expression on his face as the question sunk in.

"S-sure Amara." She smiled and took his hand as they walked onto the dance floor.

"Lucky jerk." Todd mumbled.

Lance just continued glaring as he grumbled to himself.

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What's that boy think he's doin'?" Logan growled.

"What are you talking about Logan?"

"That boy, what does he think he's doin' with Marie?"

"Dancing, honey. They're dancing. Relax, she can handle herself."

Logan growled and crossed his arms as he kept a sharp eye on his oldest daughter.

"Sweetie, she's _your_ daughter, remember? She takes after _you_ the most. Relax...besides, she has her friends watching out for her too."

Logan still continued watching Marie dance with Remy.

~_Try anything kid and you're dead meat. ~_

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Marie seemed to have lost track of time as she'd been dancing with Remy for five songs straight, and she had yet to find a reason to stop.

Remy was still smiling happily, he wasn't about to bring up the time she'd spent with him, no way.

"My dad's glaring at you." Marie stated, catching sight of her father.

"I had a feeling." When Logan Howlett glared at you, you knew.

"And you aren't worried?"

"Remy has not made you uncomfortable in any way has he?"

"...No."

"Then no, Remy is not worried."

She glared at him slightly, a little difficult as she had to lean her head up to look at him, without her noticing they'd gotten steadily closer with each passing song.

"I'll slap you if you keep talking in third person, and _then _you'd_ definitely _have to worry."

Remy swallowed and paled slightly, "Got it."

Marie smiled a bit and moved amount half an inch closer to him, "Good...cause...you aren't a bad dance partner." She said softly, looking down.

Remy gave an elated smile, "Thank you Cherie."

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[1] I think we all know what this is referencing to!

[2] If you haven't seen this movie, go see it _now_! It is _incredible!_

**A/N: Okay people, Ah need help! Who should we pair Evan with? Send me your answer in a review or PM if you're an author on the site. If you have ideas on an OC (if that's who you want him to be paired with) send me your idea. NO I'm not accepting your own OCs, mainly because that wouldn't be enjoyable for me to write, but ideas and opinions are welcome!**

**Oh, and any couples you guys want to see, let me know. As long as it is not: Kurt/anyone, Kitty/anyone, Rogue/anyone, Logan/anyone, Ororo/Anyone.**

Let me know!

Hey and also, let me know what you're dressing up as for Halloween. Or if you aren't, what the best costume you've seen (or worn) in the past was.


	7. Trouble in Paradise

Chapter 7: Trouble in Paradise

Disclaimer: Me no own, you no sue. Now I can get those damn lawyers off my lawn! –runs off with pitchfork-

**A/N: This would be my birthday present to LinkFangirl01! Happy B-day hon!**

How things had turned out like this, Kitty had no idea. All she knew was that one second she was looking for her boyfriend, the next, she finds him in a lip lock with some girl she'd never seen before.

And now, she was face down on her bed, sobbing into a pillow.

Her phone rang, probably for the sixtieth time in the last half-hour. And just like the last fifty-nine times, she didn't pick up because it was _his_ ringtone.

Sitting outside, right below her window. Kurt slammed his phone shut and put his face in his hands. At no point had the fact that Logan was going to come home and kill him entered or even crossed his mind. All he cared about was that he'd been about to search for his girlfriend, when his _ex _-girlfriend, comes up and starts kissing him!

He groaned, ~_Damn you Amanda! ~_

And now he was trying to call Kitty to convince her about what happened.

Deciding to try a different tactic, Kurt pocketed his phone and turned to start scaling the tree by Kitty's house. Once at the top, he leapt nimbly to the roof and carefully crept along it until he was above Kitty's window. Hooking his legs over the gutter, he dropped back and rolled so he was looking in through the glass.

Lifting one hand, he knocked and waited, praying.

Kitty jolted up at the knock, and whipped her tear stained face to the window to see Kurt hanging there, looking sad.

Rage filled her and she stormed over and opened the window.

"Look I can-"

"Shut it! I don't want to hear your excuses, you lying jerk!"

Kurt looked like he'd been hit, but Kitty' couldn't find it in herself to feel sorry.

"No! Kitty, you have to listen!" Moving quickly so she wouldn't have a chance to close the window, he grabbed the gutter with his hands, dropped his legs and swung into her room.

"Get out!" she screamed, looking furious.

Kurt had a violent flashback of his mother's abuse, but forced it from his mind.

Panic later, talk now.

"That was Amanda! _She_ kissed _me_! You know I'd never cheat on you. That's not me!"

She hugged herself and sniffed, "That's what I thought. I thought you'd _never_ do something to hurt me." Her voice wasn't angry now, but broken hearted.

"But I was wrong, so please just leave."

By now, Kurt could feel a lump forming in his throat as he struggled to keep his own tears at bay.

"_Please_ Kitty. You know me."

"No I don't." She whispered.

There was absolute silence between them and Kurt looked down, biting his lip.

"Kitty...before we got together, you were my best friend...For right now, I want you to think back and remember that. Remember when we were just friends." His voice was thick with tears.

"_Please_, Katzchen, I love you too much to lose you." He walked over and took her hands in his.

Kitty choked on a sob. She so wanted to throw herself in his arms, she wanted to believe him.

"No..."

Kurt made no effort to stop his tears, "_Please...please._ I love you Kitty, you know that."

"Stop. Kurt, if you really loved me, _ever_...just go."

Kurt took a shaky breath, but released her hands and turned to climb out her window. Kitty waited until she saw his form disappear down the street before closing her window and dissolving into sobs as she collapsed to her knees.

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Kurt walked into his house and collapsed on the sofa, sobbing hard. He could feel his awareness of the world around him go, but didn't try and fight it. His throat felt clogged and every heartbeat hurt. Nausea clawed at his stomach and multi coloured spots danced behind his eyelids.

The garage door opened and closed and he heard someone walk in. There was a pause before he heard what sounded like keys drop and rushed footsteps until someone was kneeling beside him.

"Kurt, honey?! What's going on, are you okay?" his mother's voice was frantic.

He didn't respond, instead he kept shaking and Raven felt her heart stop.

~_God no! He hasn't had an attack this bad in years! ~_

"Oh God, we're getting you to the hospital." Carefully, she pulled her son up. He was shaking like he was having a seizure and Raven wished she could do more than get him in the car and race off.

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Raven clasped her hands around the Styrofoam cup she held filled with cold coffee.

The hospital waiting room was bleak, and sterile. Making it a safe, but depressing environment and she'd been here for the last three and a half hours.

"Ms. Darkholme?" a doctor came up to her and she stood, leaving the undrinkable coffee on a table.

"How is he?"

He gave her a reassuring smile, "He's fine. We were able to calm him down and there's been no lasting damage."

Raven let out a relieved breath.

"He's resting, but awake and you can see him."

She could only nod and the doctor toured her through a short hall before he opened a door to reveal a single room.

Giving him a grateful smile, she stepped in to see her son lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling with glassy eyes.

"Kurt?"

He turned his head and sat up, but avoided her gaze. She walked over and sat in the chair by his bed. Kurt pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapped his arms around them then leaned his chin on them.

"M'I in trouble?" he asked in a raspy voice.

Raven felt a smile come to her face, "No, sweetheart."

He sighed and buried his face in his knees with a soft groan.

"Honey what happened?"

"Amanda happened."

Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

He entire story spilled out and Raven brought a hand to her mouth in slight horror, "Oh my."

Kurt sniffed, "I couldn't convince her."

Raven's expression became sympathetic and she gently hugged him to her, "It'll be alright."

Kurt just took a shaky breath and hugged her back, wishing he could just go somewhere else where his entire life hadn't just become hell.

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Evan watched from his living room window as Raven's car pulled back up to their house. After a few seconds, the two Darkholmes stepped out onto the night darkened pavement. Even from the distance he was at, Evan could see the white pallor of Kurt's face. It was a sure sign of the panic attack that had plagued the boy and Evan bit his lip, his eyes darting to the phone.

The two disappeared into their house and Evan made his decision. Bolting upstairs, he switched on his computer and loaded his instant messenger. Clicking on Kurt's name, he sent an invitation to chat and waited.

It took about ten minutes, but it was finally accepted.

_Nightcrawler848 has joined chat._

_Spyke46: Hey man_

_Nightcrawler848: Hi._

_Spyke46: You okay?_

There was a pause and Evan felt his worry rising.

_Nightcrawler848: Mentally or physically?_

_Spyke46: Both?_

_Nightcrawler848: I just spent the last six hours in emotional hell. My ex-girlfriend started making out with me making my current girlfriend think I cheated on her. Then, to top it all off, I ended up in the friggin hospital for four hours! Does that sound like I'm in a good state?!_

Evan let his jaw go slack, was it possible to sound hysterical/broken hearted/furious over an Instant Message?

_Spyke46: OK. Well, that explains a lot. You okay now? (physically)_

_Nightcrawler848: I'm not about to drop dead if that's what you're asking. Unless Logan comes over and dismembers me. And just so you know, I'd let him._

Evan was stunned speechless again.

_Spyke46: You allowed visitors?_

Several minutes later, Evan knocked on Kurt's front door to have it opened by an exhausted looking Raven. She gave him a grateful smile and stood by, letting him enter. Evan could only give her a heartfelt smile and race up the stairs to find Kurt's poster covered door.

Evan took a steadying breath before he opened the door.

"Hey man." He greeted, closing the door behind him.

Kurt looked up from where he was hanging upside down over the side of his bed, "Hey." His voice was raspy and dry.

"You sound like shit." Evan stated, taking over the desk chair.

"Great word to describe how I feel too." He mumbled, looking incredibly depressed.

"Have you tried calling Kitty?" Evan asked, hoping to find some way to fix the problem that had overtaken his cousin and best friend.

"She wouldn't pick up. I tried talking to her face to face but..."

Evan winced slightly; he knew how that one ended.

Kurt closed his eyes and let out a breath, "I hate Amanda, so much. Everything was going fine! And then she had to waltz right back into my life and screw it up!" he ranted passionately as his voice cracked with strain.

Slumping back on his bed, Kurt covered his face with his hands, but looked up sharply when Evan exclaimed, "I got it!"

Kurt could almost see the metaphorical light bulb above his friend's head as he pulled out his cell phone.

"Okay, don't say anything, no matter what!" he ordered as he put the phone to his ear.

Kurt only shrugged and lay back down, staring blankly at the ceiling.

The phone rang twice before it was picked up, "Hello?"

"Marie, it's me."

"Evan? Okay, what's up, and why aren't you over here?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, so you heard." He replied.

"Duh, she's my sister and-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there." Evan continued to tell her _everything_. Kurt looked panicked when he went on to explain what had happened to him, but stayed true to his promise and remained silent. Even if he put a pillow over his face and groaned loudly.

"Oh...shit." Marie stated.

"Good way to put it!" Evan chimed sarcastically.

"Well, what do we do?"

Evan went and pulled the pillow from Kurt's face, "Grab Kitty and tell her I want to talk to her. Whatever you do, _don't_ let her hang up!"

"Got it!"

"What are you doing?" Kurt asked as he sat up.

"Fixing a problem." Evan stated simply as he brought the phone back up to his ear in time to hear Kitty's voice.

"Evan?" she also sounded hurt.

"Hey K-Girl."

"Don't call me that!"

Evan blinked, "Why?"

"Because that's what you called me and..." she trailed off.

Evan took a careful breath, "Look, Kitty, I've got someone here for you to talk to. And so help me, if you hang up, I'll have Marie drag you out so you can talk face to face, understand?!"

Kitty huffed, "Fine."

"Good." He held the phone out to Kurt, "You're on man."

Kurt gave him an 'are you crazy?!' look but took the phone. Bracing himself he spoke, "Katzchen?"

On the other line, Kitty nearly dropped the phone. She gave her sister a betrayed look. The Goth glared at her, "Listen, or else." She snarled out, her sister was too proud for her own good sometimes.

"I'm listening" she ground out, even as the tears started again.

Kurt bit his lip, but he started talking, outlining everything that had happened up until the call. In the end, his throat hurt more than before, he could hear Kitty sobbing on the other line, and he wanted to hit Evan. But the boy in question was looking sad as well as worried, and he was truly trying to fix things, so he wouldn't.

"You're not lying are you?" Kitty asked faintly, the idea of Kurt in the hospital -even if he had hurt her- made her scared.

"What more proof can I give you?" Kurt asked in a broken voice.

Kitty choked on another sob and hung up the phone.

Kurt heard the dial tone ring, and his expression fell. Closing the phone he passed it to Evan and dropped face first on top of his bed.

"I'm sorry." Evan said softly, squeezing his shoulder.

Kurt let out a shaky breath, "It's not your fault, Evan. You did your best." He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Kurt..." Evan saw his friend's shoulders fall even further.

"You don't need to finish. She's your cousin, I get it."

Evan's eyes widened in slight horror, "Kurt I-"

"Just...go Evan." He turned his heart broken gaze to his friend.

The mocha skinned teen gave his friend a look, easily conveying 'I wish I could do more'. As he stood he put his hand on Kurt's shoulder again, "I'm not abandoning you mate. Not by a long shot." He gave his friend a forced grin as he left.

The door closed quietly and Kurt sighed sadly and curled up into a ball, tears freely falling from his eyes.

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The next morning, Kurt wasn't at school and Evan was continuously giving Kitty the cold shoulder.

Kitty felt sick to her stomach as they sat at their regular table, Kurt's empty space seemed too obvious in her mind, and much, _much_ too empty.

Evan evidently, couldn't handle it and tossed his uneaten lunch out as he stomped from the cafeteria.

"Why don't you believe him?" Marie whispered softly.

Kitty looked up at her big sister, "He betrayed me, Marie."

The Goth growled, "He's telling the god-damn truth!" she slapped her hands down on the table, making Kitty jump.

"And you're doing nothing but hurting him and yourself." She whispered before she too stood and walked off.

Kitty bit her lip and pulled out her cell phone before leaving to go outside. He paced back and forth as she stared at her contacts list. Bringing up Kurt's she gazed at his picture. She sniffed and her finger hovered over the 'Call' button.

"Hey Pretty Kitty." She whipped around, her phone forgotten and she found herself inches from Lance Alvers. How the boy had managed to creep up on her she'd never know, but now she had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

No Kurt to protect her.

"What do you want?" she hissed.

He shrugged, "I heard you broke up with the Nazi freak and I thought I'd offer myself as a replacement."

Kitty's gaze hardened, "No one could replace Kurt! Especially not some frat-boy wannabe!"

Lance's jaw went slack as she ran past him and to the parking lot.

She ended up on the windy side of the building, wedged up in-between the gym and the science building. The student parking lot was in clear view and she was freezing.

She brought up her contact list again and scrolled down. She hesitated another few seconds before Lance's words came back and she hit the 'Call' button.

It rang over and over again and she was scared he was ignoring her...before she heard the click that showed the call had been picked up.

"'Lo?" his voice was dry and exhausted, like it had been last night. She knew what had happened, what he had gone through.

"Kurt?" her voice sounded small and broken even to her.

"K-Kitty?" his voice was disbelieving.

"Could you come pick me up..._please?_" she sniffed.

"O-of course, where are you?"

After giving him quick directions, she hung up the phone and clenched it in a shaking fist. She was still torn, hurt and betrayal waged war in her heart with the love she felt for Kurt. But what he'd said the night before came to her: he'd been her best friend first.

And right now, she needed her best friend.

A familiar blue-black car pulled up and she raced from her hiding place out to the car. The passenger door opened for her and she climbed in and slammed the door shut, gladly drinking in the warmth.

She placed her frozen fingers in front of the heater and rubbed her hands together, trying to get some feeling back in them. She didn't even glance at the driver of the car...yet.

She waited until the car was moving to do so.

Looking over she saw Kurt was in a pair of sweatpants, obviously not having taken the chance to get changed before he came to pick her up. He was wearing a warm sweater in a dark red that normally wouldn't have made him appear so pale, but right now, his skin tone was bordering on 'dead'.

His eyes were glassy with dark circles smudged under them and he really looked like he was recovering from a bad case of the flu.

"I know I'm not much to look at right now." He mumbled uncomfortably.

She quickly moved her gaze to her hands that were folded on her lap.

They continued to drive in that extremely uncomfortable silence before they stopped at a red light; they were in the prime time for traffic jams. Perfect for elongating uncomfortable silences.

But they were also good for fixing things.

"So what happened?" he asked quietly.

Kitty sighed, "Lance."

Kurt visibly stiffened at the name and he clenched the steering wheel tightly.

"He was just being Lance and-"

"Asking you out." Kurt growled, looking just as angry as he had one Day 1 and the boy had threatened/terrified Kitty.

Kitty felt spiteful and decided to return a bit differently than normally, "Maybe I'll accept. I mean, if you're making out with random chicks."

Kurt took a long breath –too long- and when he replied, tried to speak as evenly as possible.

"I vasn't making out vith her." His accent still slipped out.

Kitty glared, "Could've fooled me."

Kurt actually growled as he pulled into the parking lot of the mall.

Putting the car in park he twisted in his seat to glare at Kitty, "Look, I'm only going to say this one more time, so listen closely."

"Amanda is an evil, lying, sadistic, slutty, moronic bitch that I have absolutely _zero_ interest in. She came up to me, before I could even figure out vhat vas going on and started kissing me. She kissed me for the majority of five seconds, mainly because I vas in shock. Next thing I know, I see you and it all vent downhill from there! Okay?! Now..." he took another long breath as Kitty stared at him in shock.

"Let me down easy this time because I'd rather not end up in the hospital two days in a row."

Kitty opened and closed her mouth soundlessly; Kurt had never spoken to her like that before.

"I..." she had no words.

He sighed, "Alright, let's get you home."

"Wait!" she grabbed his hand before he could place it on the gear shift. It felt like an electric shock went up from her hand and travelled through her body.

He met her eyes with his, blue meeting blue.

"Kurt...you have to see this from my point of view. What I saw...What I saw was the boy I loved kissing another girl."

"The question is...do you still love that boy?" he asked softly.

Her eyes were filling with tears again, "I do...but I don't know if I should." Her voice was thick.

Kurt manoeuvred their hands so he could squeeze hers, "I love you." He whispered in a heartfelt voice. His free hand went to cup her cheek and brush away a few tears, "I love you so much Kitty."

She let out a choked sob, "I want to believe you. _God, _I want to believe you."

"Kitty...if you don't, just give your dad the bat. I'll stand still."

She let out a half-sob/half laugh, "God, how can you make me laugh even when I feel sick to my stomach?"

He grinned slightly, "Ask yourself that."

She licked her lips and felt his hand around hers and his other hand on her cheek. His thumb gently stroked her cheek.

Her eyes closed and she leaned into his hand, "I love you." She sniffed and opened her eyes, "Gods I love you."

His eyes were starting to fill now, both with tears and hope.

"But..."

His expression fell.

"How do I know that was really Amanda?"

He bit his lip, "I don't know."

She looked down but then looked up, determination burning in her eyes, "Kiss me." She whispered.

His eyes shot up to stare at her with shock, "What?"

"Kiss me."

Kurt still looked confused but he moved his hand to the back of her head and slowly kissed her, trying to convey all it was he was feeling into that kiss.

And Kitty could tell.

He was sad, desperate, hopeful, angry, confused, enraged, broken-hearted and he...

They pulled away slowly and Kitty thread her fingers through his hair, "You do love me."

He gave her a sad look, looking quite like a kicked puppy, "Of course I do Katzchen. I'm pretty sure I've been in love with you from the day I met you."

"I love you too Elf." She whispered before kissing him again.

Kurt wrapped his arms around her, joy spreading through him now that he had his Katzchen back in his arms.

And he wasn't letting go.

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Marie and Evan searched the streaming crowd of students, searching for Kitty.

"Seriously, where could she be?" Marie put her hands on her hips.

"I'm trying her cell." Evan pulled out his phone and dialled his cousin's number. He tapped his foot impatiently as it rang, and when it was finally answered, it wasn't by Kitty.

"Yeah?"

Evan stared at his phone in shock, "Kurt?!"

"Yeah?" the boy sounded exhausted.

"Why are you answering Kitty's phone?" Evan questioned.

Kurt yawned again, "Hang on." There was a shuffling noise, "It's for you." Could be heard in the background.

"Oh thanks...Hello?"

"Kitty...what the hell is going on?"

Kitty giggled, "Long story short, everything's okay now." The girl sounded downright giddy.

Evan shook his head in disbelief, "Talk to your sister." he muttered, passing the phone to Marie.

The irritated Goth snatched the phone from his hand, "Where the hell are you?!"

"At Kurt's." She stated as if it was as obvious as breathing, "We had to work a few things out and we couldn't do that in his car."

Marie pinched the bridge of her nose, "Okay, one: why were you in his car in the first place and _not_ in school. And second: it took you long enough!"

"Yeah, I got that." Kitty spoke softer.

"You okay?"

"Totally, Kurt's just asleep and I don't want to wake him up."

Marie sighed, "Alright, we'll be right over... but _you_ get to tell mom and dad why you skipped classes."

She could almost hear her sister wince, "Right. See you in a few minutes."

Kitty hung up her phone and put it on the side table next to the couch with a sigh.

~_I am so dead. ~_

She sat back and rubbed small circles on the back of Kurt's hand. Her boy friend was sprawled across the couch with his head on her lap and fast asleep. She smiled down at him and brought his hand up to his palm.

"Love you."

It only took another few minutes for the doorbell to ring. Kurt shifted in his sleep and murmured something. Kitty sighed and shook his shoulder, "Wake up Kurt."

He woke up quickly and sat up, stretching his arms, giving her a warm smile as she went to answer the door and let Evan and Marie in.

Marie stomped into the living room and speared Kurt with a glare. The boy in question stood from the couch and backed up, hands up in surrender.

"Oh you better have a good explanation boy!"

"I thought Evan told you everything the other night." Kurt continued backing up, eyes wide.

"Marie, leave him alone!" Kitty raced to Kurt's side. He was shaking badly and she put an arm around him.

"You okay?" she whispered softly.

He nodded, swallowing, "Yeah, head and chest still hurt, but I'm good."

Kitty glared at Marie, "Can we sit down and talk like civilized people?"

The Goth huffed but sat and crossed her arms, "That wasn't what I was talking about. I meant an explanation for why you were here instead of at school." She pointed at Kitty.

She sighed, "Okay, well, after you left the caf. I went outside..." her confrontation with Lance was explained before she went on to say how she called Kurt and asked him to come pick her up. She ended with, "And well...we basically got everything figured out." She squeezed Kurt's hand as they sat side by side on the couch.

Marie sat back and rubbed her temples with her forefingers, "God, you better hope mom and dad don't kill you...both of you."

Kitty winced, "Well, the skipping was all my fault, Kurt was just being a good friend."

Kurt squeezed Kitty's hand back, "Yeah well, I should take some of the blame."

"Hey, you'll get off easy. You sound like you're gonna die or pass out any second." Evan stated.

Kurt chuckled in an uncomfortable fashion, "Yeah..."

"Okay, seriously, enough! What the hell happened to you the other night?"

Kurt shrugged avoiding their gazes, "Usual stuff, dizziness, loss of the ability to breathe, complete loss of awareness that sort of stuff." He spoke in a tight voice.

Kitty leaned against his shoulder, she could feel him shaking.

"And you ended up in the hospital." Evan muttered.

Kitty bit her lip and looked down, she felt extremely guilty because she knew she had caused this to happen to him.

"Well, safe to say Kurt's gonna be fine. Kitty, you're the one who has to worry about mom and dad grounding you for all eternity."

She sighed, "Right."

"And I get to worry about my mom going postal because I left the house when I'm on bed rest. Yippee." Kurt spoke sarcastically.

Kitty couldn't help giggling, "In other words, everything's back to normal."

"Good way to put it." Evan grinned.

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Raven unlocked the front door and entered, hanging up her jacket behind the door along with her key.

"Kurt! You awake honey?"

She heard a door open and Kurt stumbled downstairs, blinking owlishly, "Yeah, what's up mom?"

Raven smiled and brushed a hand through his hair, "How you holding up?"

He gave her a grin, "Pretty good considering I talked to Kitty earlier."

To say the least, Raven was sure her jaw had gone on vacation somewhere near her feet. She would have thought Kurt was lying or something equally strange, if it wasn't for the look in his eyes.

So she did the only thing that made sense and wrapped him in a hug.

"Mom, you might not be so happy when I tell you the whole story."

Raven pushed him away slightly, silently asking for an explanation, "Did you have to leave the house?"

Kurt smiled meekly, "Yes?"

Raven sighed tiredly, "Okay, well you're already paying with the inability to actually leave the house normally, but do it again-"

"Do it again and I'm dead?"

Raven smirked, "Do it again and I'm signing you in to the hospital until they say you're completely healthy."

Kurt paled, "You wouldn't."

She smiled, "Try me...Now, how does chicken sound for dinner?"

Down the street, things were not as peaceful.

"You skipped class!" Logan looked downright furious, and Ororo did not appear pleased either.

Kitty was sitting on the couch, hands folded on her lap as she avoided her parents' gazes. Upstairs, Marie had her headphones in and was trying to ignore the 'firm talking to' her little sister was getting.

"I'd like to hear your explanation, young lady. You're already grounded for a week as it is."

Kitty sighed, "Okay, here it goes..." outlining her entire day took a little while, and Logan looked like he was about to go after someone with his famed bat.

"Let me get this straight. You skipped half a day of classes, to get back together with your boyfriend, who, might I add, you thought cheated on you?!" Logan was now turning an interesting shade of purple.

Kitty nodded meekly, "Yes."

"That's it, that boy's dead." He announced, turning on his heel.

Kitty looked panicked, but thankfully, her mother came to the rescue.

"You will do no such thing! Logan, I know you have a temper, you passed it on to our eldest, but _calm down_." And just like that, Logan grumbled, but stopped his track to the garage.

"Both Kurt and Kitty are at equal blame."

"That's not true." Kitty piped up, "Kurt didn't do anything, in fact he tried to get me to listen, but I didn't. It was the horrible girl Amanda! This whole thing was her fault." Kitty growled slightly.

Ororo gave Logan a superior look, "And apparently you gave it to our youngest as well."

He crossed his arms, looking annoyed.

"Honey, go upstairs. I think it's time Kitty and I talked."

Still grumbling, Logan headed upstairs, his footsteps thumping loudly on the stairs.

"And I don't want to hear you leave, understand!"

Logan's reply was the slamming of a door.

"Honestly, he acts so childish sometimes." Ororo shook her head as she sat by Kitty.

"But right now, you and I need to have a chat."

Kitty already felt ashamed, embarrassed, and emotionally drained, she did _not_ want to have any more deep conversations in the foreseeable future.

"Honey, what I want you to understand is that boys break easy. When someone loves you as much as Kurt does, you can't treat that love like a toy." She smiled knowingly, "Yes, they act strong, all high and mighty. And it's also true that they enjoy being a girl's knight in shining armour, but inside that, they're still breakable."

Kitty nodded, finally looking up.

"I know it's not always easy to think like this; especially after you grew up with your father the way he is, but you still need to keep it in mind." Ororo brushed her bangs behind her ear, "Do you understand?"

Her daughter nodded and sighed, "Yeah, I do...I already feel awful about it."

Ororo kissed her forehead, "Sweetie, all you need to do know is that in the future, make sure you have all the facts before you judge."

Kitty nodded one last time.

"Good. Now head upstairs and go to bed, alright?"

Kitty leaned over and hugged her mother, "Thanks mom."

The African woman hugged her youngest back, saying nothing.

As Kitty headed upstairs, her mother called up, "One more thing."

She turned around to see her mom looking slightly smug, "You're still grounded for a week."

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A/N: Wow, this took me a long time! My fingers hurt from typing...ow. It was also a really tricky chapter to write so don't judge.

Without further ado, read, review and show some love!


	8. Fixed for Now

Chapter 8: Fixed For Now

Disclaimer: La dee da...

"There's nothing to do around here!" Evan exclaimed as he dropped into his seat at their regular lunch table.

"It's school, you're supposed to be bored out of your skull." Jubilee informed him with a grin, her pink sunglasses holding her long black hair out of her face and contrasting greatly with her bright yellow jacket.

Evan just muttered something and took a bite of his sandwich.

"So anyway, how's Kurt? I haven't seen him in a while." Jubilee spoke.

"He's out sick." Kitty informed her brightly dressed friend.

She winced, "Poor guy." And the subject was dropped.

Kitty relaxed, Kurt had been on ordered bed rest for another few days for his body to go back to normal. She missed him, but that wasn't to say he was letting her forget him, oh no. The minute she'd turned on her phone at break, she'd found twenty messages, spaced several minutes apart. A few were just random comments like: Did you know you can't flip through every channel in the space of two minutes? Really, it was like he was right there telling her these things, but she still missed him.

"Uh, Kit, don't look now, but jealous ex-_bitch_ friend just entered the room."

Kitty twisted around and glared. A pretty dark skinned girl was entering the cafeteria. Normally, she wouldn't have made Kitty care less, but this girl made feelings of hurt and rage curl in Kitty's stomach. _Amanda._

She pushed back from the table, ignoring her friends' protests.

"What's going on?" Jubilee asked, never having seen Kitty so angry before.

"Long story short, that's the chick Kurt used to date. She's _also_ the chick that made Kitty think Kurt was cheating on her."

Jubilee's jaw went slack before she got a furious expression on her face, "I'll call seconds." She growled.

Kitty stalked across the room and grabbed Amanda's arm. The girl tried squirming her way out, but Kitty held fast and dragged her out into the hall.

"You and I need to talk." She hissed and she let go of the girl.

"About what?" Amanda asked crisply, straightening out invisible wrinkles in her shirt.

"Kurt."

The girls brown eyes sparkled with interest, "Oh? What do you know about my boyfriend?"

" _Ex_-boyfriend." Kitty growled in return, her eyes flashing. The infamous Logan-temper was rearing its head.

Amanda waved her off, "For now."

"Uh, no. Kurt is _my_ boyfriend. Not yours. And I'd like it if you kept your skanky hands off of him."

"What did you just call me?" Amanda was now glaring as well.

"A skank. A bitchy, slutty, good for nothing, _skank_. And keep your hands off my boy!" Kitty's hands were fists at her sides and by now, a small crowd had gathered around them.

Amanda's jaw dropped and she turned an interesting shade of red, "You _bitch!_" she shrieked, swinging to slap Kitty. The smaller girl ducked out of the way and there were a few catcalls and whistles. In return she spun around Amanda gracefully, disorienting her before nailing her opponent with a well placed bitch slap.

Jubilee nudged Marie beside him, "You think we should do something?"

"Hell yeah! Record this and send it to Kurt! What guy wouldn't like watching two girls fight over him?!"Evan exclaimed excitedly.

"Kurt." The girls replied in monotone.

Evan pouted and crossed his arms.

Marie rolled her eyes and forced her way through the crowd, just in time to grab Amanda's outstretched hand and keep it from hitting Kitty.

"Touch my little sister and I kick your skinny ass." She hissed darkly.

Amanda swallowed and Marie released her, giving her a death glare that sent the girl running.

"Alright, alright! Nothing to see here! Move along!" Jubilee called.

"Way to put up a fight, K-Girl!" Evan exclaimed, wrapping a friendly arm around his cousin's shoulders.

She blushed, "I shouldn't have let my temper control me." She mumbled.

"Are you _kidding?!_ That witch needed a wakeup call." Jubilee pretended her hand was a phone and held it to her ear, "Hi Amanda, this is reality calling. Get a life!" she mimicked hanging up.

The other three laughed.

"Come on, we'd better get to class." Marie reminded them once they'd all settled down.

"Yeah, don't want to risk getting detention. Or else Kit'll just get depressed!"

Evan was swatted by a blushing Kitty.

oOo

Kurt stared at his ceiling with an equally blank stare. His phone was charging, the internet was boring and TV was either A) reruns of bad soap operas B) pay-per-view movies that were already on DVD or C) depressing crap about the wars oversees, which we all know is just a bright ray of sunshine.

He rolled onto his stomach with a wince, his chest hurt but that was normal, he'd just take some pain-killers later.

He licked his lips and listened to the silence of his house. _Boring._

Sitting up, he grabbed his guitar from the end of his bed and quickly tuned it before he started strumming a few chords. He played a slow, almost Mexican melody that made him think of hot beaches and Kitty in a bikini.

He shook his head and chuckled, ~_Well, I'm definitely straight. ~_ He thought randomly.

Switching tunes, he played a lullaby like tune; he mentally recorded it and decided to see if he could find lyrics on a later date.

He started strumming a few quick chords, randomly just what came to mind.

Then he started humming, and before he knew it, lyrics were flowing from his tongue like he'd been practicing for days.

_I am a question to the world.  
Not an answer to be heard.  
Or a moment,  
That's held in your arms..._

__

And what do you think you'd ever say?  
I won't listen anyway.  
You don't know me.  
And I'll never be what you want me to be...

__

And what do you think you'd understand?  
I'm a boy, no, I'm a man.  
You can't take me,  
And throw me away.

__

And how can you learn what's never shown?  
Yeah, you stand here on your own.  
They don't know me...  
Cause I'm not here.

_And I want a moment to be real.  
Wanna touch things I don't feel.  
Wanna hold on and feel I belong.  
And how can the world want me to change?  
They're the ones that stay the same.  
They don't know me,  
Cause I'm not here._

__

And you see the things they never see.  
All you wanted I could be.  
Now you know me.  
And I'm not afraid...

__

And I want to tell you who I am.  
Can you help me be a man?  
They can't break me,  
As long as I know who I am.

_They can't tell me who to be,  
Cause I'm not what they see.  
Yeah, the world is still sleeping while I keep on dreaming for me.  
And their words are just whispers and lies that I'll never believe..._  
_And I want a moment to be real.  
Wanna touch things I don't feel.  
Wanna hold on and feel I belong.  
And how can the world want me to change?  
They're the ones that stay the same.  
They don't know me,  
Cause I'm not here._

_I'm the one now,  
Cause I'm still here.  
I'm the one,  
Cause I'm still here.  
I'm still here...  
I'm still here...  
I'm still here..._

He finished strumming, the last chord hanging around him, stirring the air. He felt alive when he played, his spirit felt free and he in turn felt weightless. It was a freedom he'd only experienced otherwise when he kissed Kitty.

He sighed and put down his guitar and lay back down on his bed. The silence wasn't suffocating anymore and he found sleep easily as he closed his eyes, those final chords reverberating in his mind.

oOo

The ringing of the phone downstairs woke him and he blinked a few times before groaning and leaving the warm confines of his bed to stumble downstairs and over to the phone.

Not bothering to check the number, he picked up and stifled a yawn before he answered, "'Lo?"

"Hey sleepy head, did I wake you up?" Kitty's voice was sweet and Kurt smiled.

"Yeah, but that's fine. What time is it?"

"Three. We just got out of school and are heading over with your homework."

Kurt grimaced, "Oh joy."

"Yep. So make sure you're decent when we get over there!"

"Aw, you're not coming over by yourself?" Kurt teased in a husky voice.

He could almost hear her blushing, "You better be glad you're not on speaker."

Kurt chuckled, "Would it really matter?"

Kitty giggled, "Guess not. But we're giving Jubes a ride so..."

Kurt sighed, "Right, right. I'll be wearing clothes when you get here."

"Good, see you in ten."

"Of course love." He hung up the phone and retreated upstairs for a five minute shower to zap the remainders of sleep from his mind.

Kitty bit her lip to keep from giggling as she blushed and snapped her phone shut.

In the back seat, Evan and Jubilee exchanged glances.

"Oh can you feel the love tonight?!" they threw themselves into a very loud, very off-key rendition of 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight'.

"Shut up! You're just jealous." Kitty shot over her shoulder, trying to force down her blush.

"So? We can be jealous and tease you at the same time." Jubilee grinned.

In the driver's seat, Marie rolled her eyes, "Oh hush up you two we're nearly at your house anyway Jubes." She pulled the care to a stop in front of a surprisingly bland looking house. It was a facade of course, the inside was paint splattered, courtesy of Jubilee's artist mother, and filled with mismatched but homey furniture.

"See you guys tomorrow! Tell Kurt to get better." The Asian girl swung her backpack over her shoulder and ran up the walk, stepped over over-grown weeds to reach her front door and throw it open.

Marie drove away once they were sure she was inside.

"Kurt doing okay?"

Kitty nodded, "Yeah, I think I woke him up when I called though. He sounded groggy."

"Groggy? Huh, you don't expect to hear that in an everyday conversation." Evan stated.

"Shut up." The two sisters ordered in teasing voices.

oOo

Kurt pulled a shirt over his head just as the doorbell rang. Using one hand to tousle his hair back to a semblance of tidy he trampled down the stairs to unlock the door. Pulling it open he found his girlfriend, her sister and his best friend on the other side.

"Hey sleepy head! We come bearing homework!" Kitty skipped inside past him. Kurt grinned at her fondly and opened the door wider to allow the other two in.

"How was school?" he questioned as they went to the living room.

"Boring. It's school, what do you expect?" Evan dropped onto the couch and sprawled out.

Kurt rolled his eyes, "Try counting the ceiling tiles all day. Now _that's_ boring."

"Well, one interesting thing happened today." Marie smirked at Kitty who blushed yet again and busied herself organizing Kurt's homework.

Interest peaked Kurt gave Marie a significant look to keep going. Said Goth grinned, "She got in a cat fight with little miss priss Amanda Sefton."

Kitty gave out a strangled moan and buried her face in her hands. Kurt's eyebrows raised and he gave Kitty an unnameable look.

"You got in a fight with Amanda?" his voice revealed nothing.

"...Yes." Kitty said meekly.

Kurt got a small half-grin on his face, "While I'm not one to condone violence," a look of past hurt flashed through his eyes, "I think that's...well, really sweet." He wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

She looked up, "Sweet? You mean, you're not mad?"

He shrugged, "'Bout time someone hit her, I'm just glad it wasn't me."

She blushed, "I didn't hit her just-"

"Just slapped her a good one!" Evan chimed.

Kurt rolled his eyes and threw a pillow at Evan's head. He didn't duck fast enough.

Marie started laughing and even Kitty giggled a little.

"She didn't hurt _you_ though did she?" Kurt's gave was worried.

Kitty smiled and kissed his cheek, "Nope. I have an insanely protective older sister, remember?"

Kurt chuckled and hugged her, "Right."

oOo

Logan knocked on the door, slightly faded music could be heard on the other side before it was switched off and the door was opened.

"Hey Dad, what's up?" Kitty looked up at her father questioningly.

"C'mon Half-Pint, we gotta talk." Kitty looked worried as she followed her father downstairs and outside where he motioned for her to get in the truck.

"Should I be worried?"

He gave her a slight grin, "Just need to talk to ya kiddo."

She sighed and climbed into the black Ford, buckling herself in once she took her seat. Her dad was an offensive driver.

Logan pulled the truck off the driveway and started down the road until they pulled onto the highway.

"So, what's going on?" Kitty asked nervously.

"Your boyfriend."

"Kurt? Why? What's going on dad?" she turned to glare at him in her seat.

"Relax kiddo, it's nothing bad. I'm just worried about ya."

"That was a huge misunderstanding dad, and we both paid for it. You didn't say anything to him did you?" Kitty's eyes widened in panic.

Logan chuckled, "Relax, I didn't say anything to him. I just was making sure you're happy." He shifted in his seat, this was a conversation he'd been dreading for years, and it was one he hadn't thought would come until Marie turned eighteen. But here he was talking to his youngest daughter about her relationship, one that seemed to be more than just teenage puppy love or a crush. And she was only fifteen!

Kitty smiled, finally figuring out what was going on, "Daddy...I love you." She leaned over and kissed his scratchy cheek.

Logan gave her a warm smile, "You know I'll always be here for ya and your sister right?"

She nodded, "Of course we do. You're our dad."

He smiled, "That's my girl."

They drove in comfortable silence until they got back home. The lights were off, all but the hall entry when they got in. Logan walked Kitty back to her room where she stopped and hugged him tightly.

"Love you."

He hugged her back, "I love you Katherine." He kissed the top of her head, "Sleep tight kiddo."

She smiled and disappeared into her room.

Logan sighed and went to join his wife in bed, ~_That boy better treat her right. ~_ He thought.

Ororo looked up from her book as he entered the bedroom and smiled, "About time you got back."

He gave her a loving smile and came to kiss her warmly, "I take it went well?" she spoke with a smile.

Logan sighed, "Why do they have to grow up?"

Ororo smiled and ran her fingers through his hair, "They can't stay our babies forever Logan."

He sighed, "A man can dream right?"

"Alright, dream about getting grandkids after they get married then."

Logan sighed again, "Do you want me to have a heart-attack?"

Ororo giggled, "Have a shower then come to bed already, it's late."

oOo

"Come on, mom! I'm fine!" Kurt protested.

"Nope. You're staying right here until next week." Raven replied evenly as she brushed her hair, Kurt was on the other side of her bathroom door. He was protesting loudly and in more than one language about staying home from school.

"Why? I'm just getting stir crazy. I finished all the homework the guys brought me, there's nothing to do around here!"

Raven rolled her eyes and smiled slightly, "Honey, you know it wouldn't be a good idea."

"Mom, I'll be fine. _Really_. I'd be with the guys they'd keep an eye on me. Evan and I are in all the same classes even." He pleaded eve while he thought it strange that he _wanted_ to go to school.

"Kurt, you know I can't let you go." She opened the door to see her son giving her a wide pleading look.

"Sweetie that stopped working when you were ten."

He sighed and his shoulders slumped, "Come on! I'm asking to _go_ to school. How often does that happen in life?!"

Raven laughed, "Monday, honey. You go back on Monday." She grabbed her keys and pulled on her suit jacket.

"Now, I'll see you when I get back to work." She kissed his forehead, "Be good, don't burn down the house, don't call China or Japan, try and get some sleep and I called the school, they will call Logan or Ororo to pick you up and bring you back home if you turn up there."

Kurt groaned and she kissed him again, "I'll be back at nine!" she called as she left.

Kurt sighed and went back to his room and shoved opened the window and leaned out, feeling the wind blow over his face and through his hair. Goosebumps appeared on his pale skin, silently announcing the coming of snow.

He put his chin in his hand and leaned his elbow on the window sill. His breath made a soft white cloud in the air. Down on the street, it was quiet, but the sounds of cars on the main road reached his ears. His car was sitting in the garage downstairs and it was tempting to take it out and go somewhere. The thing was, he felt safe if he was with someone else –as he would be at school- but out in public by himself was just screaming for trouble.

~_Sheesh, mom should thank God right about now that I have common sense. ~_

He pulled back into the warmth of the house and slid he window shut. The temperature of his room had dropped thanks to the cold air and he grabbed a long sleeved shirt from his closet. Pulling the shirt over his head, he left his room to go to the kitchen and dig around for food.

After a quick lunch, he set up camp on the couch and started flipping through the channels. He wasn't even registering what was on as he hung upside down, blood slowly rushing to his head.

The ringing of the phone startled him from his boredom induced stupor and he sat up -wincing from the head rush- and grabbed the cordless phone from its cradle.

"Hello?"

"HEY KURT!" a chorus of voices came over the speaker and he started laughing.

"Very nice you guys. Who am I talking to?"

"Jubilee, me, your ever loving girlfriend, Evan and Wanda." Marie drawled in a surprisingly cheerful voice.

He chuckled and shook his head in disbelief, "I see. What couldn't go a day without me?" he asked smugly.

"Aw, hush up blue-boy." Wanda's voice came over clearly.

"We just didn't want you dying of boredom." Jubilee chattered.

"So instead you guys decided to destroy my eardrums?"

"You know you love us so don't complain." Kitty added.

The bell signalling the start of classes rang in the background and Kurt smiled.

"Well thanks. Now go learn something."

"BYE!" He laughed as he hung up the phone and lay back down. Suddenly he didn't feel as lonely.

oOo

Monday dawned bright and chilly, frost glazing every leaf and blade of grass as far as the eye could see. The school looked like a giant iced gingerbread house as Kurt parked his car.

He grinned to himself as he spotted his friends hurrying into the building; he hadn't told them he was coming back to school today.

Still smiling slightly he grabbed his bag and opened his door, letting a burst of cold air into his car. Shivering in his jacket, he locked the door and rushed into the school just as snow started to fall. Flakes caught in his hair, creating the illusion of a star-speckled sky on his head.

Entering the warm school he shook his head, sending water droplets flying. With a sigh he searched the thin crowd, quickly spotting his friends and starting towards them.

"Anyone else get the urge to eat baked goods when they saw the school?" he questioned.

"Kurt!" the cousins were scarily in unison.

"You just saw me last night." He laughed as Kitty hugged him tightly.

"Trust us on this one; she can miss you a _lot_ in over twelve hours." Evan looked like he was speaking from experience.

Kurt wrapped one arm around his girlfriend; the extra body heat was actually welcome. "I'll keep that in mind."

oOo

Enter math class, or in other words, enter torture chamber number 1208.

Kurt avoided Amanda's gaze as best he could throughout the entire period, this was not as easy as he would have hoped as she was only a few seats over from him.

~_Don't throw your textbook at her, don't throw your textbook at her, don't... ~_ [1]

The bell rang and Kurt was gone with his books, if it had been a cartoon one of those funny shaped dust clouds would have been the only thing left behind.

He raced until he reached his locker where he finally stopped, panting slightly and leaned back against the wall. The cold stone felt good against his back.

"Hey, you okay man?" Evan's voice drifted into his ears.

When Kurt opened his eyes, he didn't look like he was about to pass out or throw up, instead they burned with rage. Evan actually took a step back.

"Let's just...get to our next class." He strode past Evan.

~_Okay...not good. Note to self: keep Amanda away from him...and Kitty. ~_

oOo

Kurt and Kitty were outside for lunch, which was surprising to both Marie and Evan seeing as the grounds were covered in a thin layer of snow.

"Care to explain why you're out here...and Kurt looks like he's about to pass out?" Evan's voice grew slightly panicked.

"Not about to pass out..."Kurt slurred and nuzzled his face in the crook of Kitty's shoulder. She smiled lovingly at her boyfriend and stroked his hair.

"He's just tired."

"'Appens for a vhile after...you know." He got out drowsily, his accent creeping up.

"Alright, as long as you're okay." Marie tugged her jacket closer.

"M'good." He mumbled.

"Don't worry I made sure he ate something." Kitty assured them as she continued stroking Kurt's hair.

The two cousins nodded in content and started into their own lunches, the K-Team had actually chosen a rather sheltered space, hardly any wind reached them.

"So...why are you out here?" Marie asked.

"Amanda." Kitty answered seeing as Kurt was snoring softly having fallen asleep.

"Is it even safe for him to sleep out in the cold...or for _anyone_ in that case?" Evan looked like he was contemplating poking his friend.

"He's fine."

Evan sighed in defeat, "Okay, whatever. He's your boyfriend. It's _your_ fault if he gets hypothermia."

"He won't get the chance." Marie checked her skull and cross-bones watch she'd gotten from Evan and Kitty for her birthday two years ago, "The bell's gonna ring in ten minutes."

"Initiate: Operation Wake the Elf!" Evan proclaimed as he stood.

Kitty grinned, "Easy." She elbowed Kurt right below his rib cage and the boy jolted awake.

"What I miss?!"

Evan's face fell, "Aw man! Come _on!_ How do you even know that works anyway?" He asked as they all stood, brushing snow off.

"His mom told me." She smirked.

Kurt got a mixed expression on his face, half-annoyed, half completely accepting, "I have no reply to that." He muttered.

Kitty giggled, "She told me that'd be your reply too."

He gave her an odd look, "Since when have you and my mom been all buddy-buddy?"

She shrugged and leaned in closer to him.

oOo

Kurt had everyone but Marie, Jubilee and Wanda in his car as he drove home, the Goth having taken her own small car and was driving Jubilee home.

"Hey Kurt, who's car is that?" Kitty piped up, noticing the green van on Kurt's driveway.

"I have no idea." He pulled up and parked along the sidewalk and jumped out of his car, quickly followed by Evan and Kitty.

Hands stuck in his pockets as his breath made a faint cloud in front of him, he leaned to the side and finally recognized the license plate.

"Kurt!" he stood straight just as he was hit by a quickly moving girl that barely reached his chin.

"Rahne!" he hugged the small girl back tightly.

Evan looked to Kitty to see her looking just as confused as he felt.

"What are you doing here?" Kurt pushed away the petite auburn haired girl. She was slight and thin with bright green eyes and dressed in a big green winter coat that made her look a lot like a marshmallow.

She grinned up at him, "We're visiting! Duh!" she finally noticed the people standing awkwardly behind Kurt.

"Jerk, you weren't gonna introduce me?" she lightly slapped his arm.

Kurt gave her a mock hurt look, "Hey, easy wolf-girl, I was just about to."

"You forgot." She stated as he tugged her over to the cousins.

"Did not." He replied.

"Guys, this is my cousin Rahne." The red head grinned, "Rahne, this is my friend Evan and my girlfriend Kitty."

Rahne's expression lit up as he said 'girlfriend' and she pounced on Kitty in a hug before pulling away and turning to Kurt.

"Oh she's cute Kurt!" she turned back to Kitty, "So what are you doing dating my cousin?"

Evan decided immediately he liked this girl, "No clue, what's your cousin doing dating _mine_?"

Rahne's grin grew, "Wow, you guys are cousins?"

"Yep, by blood." Evan grinned and shook the small girl's hand.

Rahne' cocked her head to the side, "No kidding."

"So, you're Kurt's cousin?" Kitty questioned as she moved to stand by Kurt. He wrapped his arm around her, warming them both. They didn't even seem aware of their actions.

Rahne smiled, "Yep! His mom's, my dad's sister."

"Yes, good, everyone's introduced, wonderful! Now, can we go inside before I freeze?" Kurt questioned.

"Alright, alright, sheesh." Rahne lead the way inside where it was so warm, a billow of steam left the door when it was opened.

Kurt and Kitty stepped apart and everyone pulled off their jackets and boots, hanging them up to dry before entering the living room.

"Ah, there you are!" Kurt found himself smiling at his aunt.

"Hey Aunt Emma." The blonde woman pulled him into a tight hug.

"Kurt, how've you been?" his uncle Scott grinned at him.

"Good, I didn't expect to see you guys until Christmas." He shook his uncle's hand.

"We decided to drop in early."

"That's code for: they're going to Scotland for Christmas this year." Raven stated smugly.

Kurt smirked, "Well that explains it."

Kitty ducked under his arm again and Scott smirked at Kurt, "You care to introduce us?"

Kurt rolled his eyes and Kitty blushed, "You sound a lot like your daughter." Kurt muttered.

"This is Kitty, and that's Evan." He thumbed behind him where Evan was standing.

"Kitty's his girlfriend." Rahne announced and Kitty's blush deepened.

"Pass me a pillow?" he spoke to the ruby faced girl. Silently, she grabbed a throw pillow from the arm chair near them and handed it to him.

"Thanks." Kurt then proceeded to whip the pillow behind him and hit Rahne in the face.

She glared at his back before sighing and grabbing the back of his shirt, tugging him towards the stairs.

"We'll be upstairs!" she called as all four teenagers reached Kurt's room.

As Kurt sat on the bed and Kitty joined him Rahne sighed and sat cross legged on the floor, "Just so you know, you're really predictable."

Kurt shrugged and Kitty laughed.

"Hey, I've got a question." Evan said out of the blue as he spun slowly in Kurt's desk chair.

"You don't look anything like your mom, why is that?"

Rahne grinned, "'Cause she's my step-mom."

"Oh." Evan stopped spinning, feeling uncomfortable.

"Don't worry, you asked and I expected it. I barely ever see Jean, she and my dad got divorced when I was a few months old."

Kurt nodded, "I was three at the time, I vaguely remember a red headed woman with a high and mighty voice."

"Yep, that's mommy!" Rahne stated sarcastically, "Unfortunately I got a lot of her features."

"Like her hair, her eyes, her gender..." Kurt listed.

"Do you want me to hurt you?" Rahne asked sweetly.

Kurt grinned, "Hey, I'm still recovering. You aren't allowed to injure me until the New Year."

Rahne pouted, "Damn. I can't claim medical immunity."

"You did when you were six."

"I got bit by a dog, what do you expect?!"

"You guys have very colourful medical histories you know that?" Evan interrupted.

"Tell me about it." The cousins replied in unison.

"Is this what it's like for you when Marie, Evan and I speak in unison?" Kitty asked her boyfriend.

He smiled at her and kissed her forehead, "It's worse, because there's three of you."

The door opened and Marie came in to push Evan off the desk chair and seat herself in it.

"I like your aunt." Marie stated as way of greeting before grinning at Rahne, "Hi I'm Marie; I'm your cousin's girlfriend's sister."

Rahne shook Marie's offered hand, "I'm Rahne; I'm your sister's boyfriend's cousin."

oOo

[1] For those of you who know me and Knight, this is obvious, but I shall explain. Quite simply, I hit Knight with my science textbook...a lot. But it's easy to do so, he needs to learn to duck. (Don't worry, he knows I love him) Oh and I'm not his psycho ex-girlfriend.

Oh and Rahne will not be in the next chapter, but she will make another appearance!

Read, review and show some love! (flames will only let me build a fire, because it's friggin' cold up here!)


	9. It's a Wonderful Life, Right?

Chapter 9: It's a Wonderful Life, Right?

Disclaimer: I own the X Men about as much as I own the world. I don't even own a freakin' car!

A/N: Okay enough angsty depressing crap, time for fluff tasticalness! (**oh and the song is Gotta Be Somebody by Nickelback)**

The first thing Kitty heard when she stepped into Evan's house out of the snow was a guitar rift accompanied by a decent beat. Following the music she found herself outside the garage and listening into Evan and Kurt.

_This time…I wonder what it feels like._

_To find the one in this life._

_The one we all dream of, but dreams just aren't enough so I'll be waiting for the real thing._

_I'll know it by the feeling._

_The moment when we're meeting,_

_Will play out like a scene, straight off the silver screen so I'll be holding my breath._

_Right up 'til the end._

_Until that moment when I find the one that I'll spend forever with…_

_Cause nobody wants to the last one there._

_Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares._

_Someone to love with my life in their ends._

_There's gotta be somebody for me like that._

_Cause nobody wants to go it on their own._

_And everyone wants to know they're not alone._

_Somebody else that feels the same someway._

_There's gotta be somebody for me out there._

It continued and Kitty found herself blushing at the lyrics and what they suggested.

_~ What's got Kurt feeling so sentimental? ~_

As the music died she knocked on the garage door and stuck her head in.

"Hey guys. This a male bonding session or can girls hang out?"

Kurt gave her a bright smile and that was all the encouragement she needed to bound to his side and kiss him quickly.

They were cut off by gagging noises coming from behind the drums. They sent dual glares to Evan who completely ignored them.

"Can we keep the PDA to a minimum when I'm around please? I do _not_ need to be seeing that."

Kurt smirked, "Then I'm going too have to ask you to keep the flirting to a minimum when we're around Jubilee."

Kitty had no idea someone with Evan's skin colour could blush bright red but apparently they could as Evan blushed from the tips of his roots quite spectacularly.

"There you are!" Marie entered the garage, her arms full of bags and a very large, overstuffed binder. The seems were ripping, several papers stuck out and the zipper that was supposed to keep it closed had broken long ago and was now stuck in the center were part of the torn fabric was stuck in its teeth.

Kurt raised an eyebrow at her appearance, "You look like you've been having fun Rogue."

Kitty and Evan gave him odd looks at the name but Marie didn't even blink.

"Yeah, well, I ran into Remy."

"LeBeau?" Evan completed.

Marie's glare could have set him on fire, "No Remy Taylor…of _course_ LeBeau you moron!" she snapped.

Evan raised his hands in surrender and got a startled expression on his face. "Okay, okay, sheesh. Don't bite my head off." He muttered as he got up from his seat.

"You okay?" Kurt asked worriedly, holding Kitty to him with one arm wrapped around her waist, his hand resting on his hip comfortably.

She let out a breath, "Ugh, I just can't _stand_ that boy! He keeps asking me out and-"

"Why don't you just say yes? You obviously like him." Kitty interrupted in a matter-of-fact voice.

Marie's jaw went slack and she stared at her friends, none of which looked at all surprised by Kitty's revelation. It was rather obvious.

"B-because…because…"

They smiled at her kindly –or in Evan's case a little teasing- and shared looks.

She huffed and put her hands on her hips, "I do _not_ like Remy LeBeau!" she snipped.

"_Sure_ you don't." Kurt drew it out in a placating voice, his eyes danced merrily.

While Marie ground her teeth Kurt glanced to the beat up clock hanging above the work bench that sat off to the side in the Monroe garage. The bench –instead of being covered in tools and pieces of plywood as it was built for- was stacked high with cords and speakers they often used while they played.

"Crap, I need to get home." Kurt let go of his girlfriend and started packing up his guitar.

"Why? It's only three."

Kurt nodded, not looking up, "Yep, and we're having a few people over from Mom's work at five. I need to help clean and sterilize the house."

"And that's code for?" Evan asked hesitantly.

"Basically eliminate any evidence of actual residence and take every poster down I have on my door, in my room and scrub the tables, chairs, sinks and anything else you can clean with glass and tile spray in the house. I'm going to smell like lemon cleaner for days."

Marie snorted, "Have fun with that Blue."

Kurt looked up and smiled, "No flowers at the funeral if you please."

That got the three laughing as Kurt kissed Kitty good bye and left his friend's house to enter his own and attack anything that could be called dust or a speck.

oOo

The morning of November 25 dawned bright and chilly. A thick blanket of snow covered the lawns and vehicles that weren't blessed enough to have be parked in the garage the night before. Later their owners would spend several cold minutes scraping the ice off and even pushing them through snow drifts as they proceeded to leave for work or shopping. As it was a Saturday this did not include Kitty, but the small brunette still woke up at six thirty and dressed before running downstairs.

Woken by the sounds of her sister moving around in the room across the hall, a messy haired Marie stuck her head out of her own room and gave her sibling a confused and slightly annoyed look.

"What in God's name are you doing waking people up this early on a Saturday?" she growled. Okay, so maybe she was more annoyed than confused.

Kitty smiled, "It's Kurt's birthday, I'm headed over to his place to help make breakfast."

Marie rolled her eyes, "You and his mom fixed this up ages ago didn't ya?"

Kitty shrugged in a noncommittal gesture and continued downstairs. Marie groaned, "Just wear a jacket!" she called before going back into the dark abyss that was her bedroom.

Kitty smiled fondly to herself as she pulled on her thick purple winter jacket and snow boots. She was just going down the street, but the slight wind made it several degrees colder. Tugging on her mitts after she closed and locked the front door Kitty shivered slightly and hugged herself as she crunched through the thick snow on her slow trek to Kurt's house.

The living room lights were on when she reached it and she knocked on the door only to have Raven open it several seconds later and shuffle her inside. Kitty happily welcomed the warm wall of air that greeted her as she pulled off her coat and shoes.

"Thank you so much for offering to help." Raven smiled as they walked into the kitchen. Bacon was already sizzling in a pan on the stove and a loaf of bread was open and sitting by the toaster waiting to be browned.

Kitty grinned at her boyfriend's mother, "No problem, I'm glad I could help."

Together the two females put together a meal of truly epic proportions, even if it was only for three people. Kitty was just finishing plating the bacon when Kurt was heard coming down the stairs. Raven got a soft smile on her face. Earlier she'd told Kitty that it was rare for Kurt to remember his own birthday, so breakfast would be a pleasant surprise.

So Kitty was waiting with an excited smile on her face and her hands clasped behind her back when Kurt came into the Kitchen looking confused.

"Surprise!" she exclaimed when he saw her.

Kurt quickly found himself with his arms full of Kitty as his mother smiled brightly, "Happy birthday darling."

Kurt blinked before chuckling embarrassedly and hugging Kitty back.

"Well this is a nice surprise to wake up to."

"I thought so." Kitty pulled away and tugged him to the table where the food was waiting, hot and delicious smelling.

oOo

Kurt watched Kitty walk back to her house as he paused at the walk up to Evan's front door. Smiling to himself he walked up the slippery path to the Monroe's front porch and knocked on the door. Not unexpectedly, it was Evan's mother who opened the door.

"Good morning Kurt, this is a surprise." He grinned at the woman as she let him in.

"Eh, I thought I'd come wake up Evan so he wouldn't be in his underwear when we went out today. Kitty already went to go get Marie." He informed his best friend's mother.

She smiled, "Well good luck, you know where his room is." She turned and went back in to her small office; it was quite nice for her to work from home.

Hanging his jacket on the hook near the door and leaving his damp boots to dry some he went up the light hardwood stairs to the top floor, containing two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The top floor of Evan's house was much smaller than the main floor, and in an 'L' shape. Directly across from the stairs was Evan's room, and at the end of the 'L' turn was his mother's.

Grinning slightly, Kurt entered Evan's room/disaster area. It was the same as always dark blue walls plastered with skateboarding and rock band posters. The desk under the window piled high with magazines, empty energy drink cans, the stray shirt or sock and millions of CDs. Evan's bed was barely a foot and a half from the floor, dark grey sheets were tossed astray, barely covering the snoring boy lying among them.

Kurt carefully picked his way across the room, being careful not to step on even more CDs, homework, the random book, underwear that was never put away and a strangely large amount of socks. Finally reaching Evan's bedside he tilted his head to the side and contemplated a few ideas before smirking devilishly.

Using his foot he cleared a small area by the bed, it wouldn't be funny if Evan got seriously injured. Once done he grabbed the blanket the Evan had gotten rolled up in during the night. It was securely around his friend and all Kurt would have to do would pull the blanket to send Evan tumbling to the floor.

Which he did.

"Hey!" Evan glared up at his laughing friend while rubbing his sore head.

Kurt couldn't even take his friend seriously, every time he calmed down even a little bit the memory of the sound Evan made as he fell –cross between a baby yorkie's bark and a rabid squirrel- made him laugh even harder.

"Dude, _so_ not funny."

Kurt finally calmed down, but his eyes still shone with mirth, "On the contrary, absolutely hilarious!"

Evan rolled his eyes and stood, elbowing his friend before he headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

Kurt chuckled and grabbed the tussled blankets from the floor and quickly made his friend's bed. Oddly enough he cleaned when he was bored so he spent the next ten minutes picking up CDs and putting them in the CD binder that was never used.

Evan stared at him when he came out, pulling a green t-shirt over his head.

"You're an odd one, Kurt."

The newly seventeen year old could only laugh.

oOo

"Where are you two girls off to?" Ororo asked as her daughters stumbled down the stairs, fully dressed and with an expression similar to the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland 'I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!'[1]

Marie ran a comb through her short auburn hair, her streaked white bangs being pulled back from her face for a few seconds before falling back into place, "Kurt's birthday, so we're all gonna hang out for the day."

Ororo smiled, but she caught Logan frown as he read the paper.

"Alright, have fun, be safe!"

"We will!" they chorused in unison just before the front door slammed behind them.

Ororo lost her smile and turned to her husband, a frown firmly in place on her face, "Alright, what's going on?"

Logan grumbled and folded up the paper, "I'm not happy with the girls going out."

Ororo rolled her eyes, "Logan, just a few months ago you were saying how much you like Kurt."

His frown deepened, "Yeah, but that was before my little girl didn't come home looking like her world just collapsed around her."

Ororo sighed, "Baby, you know it was all a misunderstanding. And Marie told me that Kurt did everything possible to try and explain to Kitty." She cupped his cheek, "She has your stubbornness, remember?"

His sigh was crossed with a growl, "I don't want that boy hurting her again."

Ororo shook her head, "You hurt _him_ and you'll be on the couch for a week." She promised before going back to the stove. Hopefully he would listen to her. She'd thought that Logan had spoken to Kitty and everything had been cleared up, apparently she had been too hopeful that her husband had –for once- not held a grudge.

oOo

Kurt was not proud of himself. While Evan was having a quick breakfast –code for: he took longer to eat than himself- he went to go see if the girls were ready. Being him, he travelled down the alley and hopped the back gate to enter the Howlett's backyard. He'd been about to knock on the back door when he heard his girlfriend's parents say his name. Curiosity getting the better of him, he'd continued listening and was now regretting it. Logan hated him. Kurt couldn't even say it was unfair because he knew that he'd be reacting the same way if he was in Logan's place.

~_Great going Darkholme. ~_

He shook his head and quickly ran to the back fence. Grabbing the top with two hands he vaulted over in a single fluid motion, missing the bright blue eyes watching him from the kitchen window.

oOo

Ororo found herself biting her lip in an act strangely reminiscent of her youngest daughter. Putting down the pan she had been washing she peeled off her rubber gloves and quickly went out the back door.

"Kurt!" she called, hoping the boy hadn't gotten too far.

He hadn't.

Kurt jumped and reeled around, terrified by the thought of being caught. He couldn't even think straight enough to have a series of expletives going through his mind.

Ororo unlocked the back gate and gave him a smile, "Ah, good, I was hoping you hadn't run off. Come here."

He watched her hesitantly before coming closer, his body language displaying the fact that he was ready to bolt at the first sight of Logan...and his bat. Kurt inwardly shuddered at the thought.

Ororo's smile was warm and mothering, and expression that seemed to fit her perfectly.

"I'm not going to bite hun."

He gained a slight bit of healthy color and entered the backyard, now using more traditional means.

"You heard what Logan said." It wasn't a question.

Kurt nodded, looking down at his feet and stuffing his hands on the pockets of his back jacket, "I'm really sorry about that, I didn't mean to."

Ororo couldn't help but giggle silently; Kurt really was a sweet boy and she could see what attracted her daughter to him. Placing a warm hand on his shoulder she squeezed gently, "I'm not mad, Kurt. And don't mind Logan."

Kurt shook his head and sighed softly, "I understand where he's coming from. If I was in his position I'd be acting the same."

Ororo put a finger under his chin and tilted his face up so he would look at her.

"Kurt, Logan holds grudges for the dumbest things. It's one of his less..._redeeming_ qualities."

"The protectiveness comes in handy though some times." Kurt grinned slightly and Ororo's smile broadened.

"That's true, but he still has no right to say what he did about you."

Kurt shrugged and Ororo removed her hand from his shoulder, "Kurt...he'll come around."

He's returning smile was slightly forced, "After he's chased me around the block?"

She rolled her eyes, "Kitty wouldn't let him."

His smile became slightly less acted, "So...you aren't mad at me?" his voice was hesitant.

She appeared shocked before she smiled again, "No hun, not one bit." She squeezed his shoulder again before nudging him back to the gate, "Now go, the others are probably wondering where you've gotten to."

He smiled at her and left, "Right thanks Mrs. Howlett."

He got to the gate before Ororo called him again, "Kurt!" he turned, a quizzical expression on his face.

"Happy birthday." He gave her one of his megawatt grins before leaving, closing the gate behind him.

Ororo smiled to herself and went back in to the house, feeling much better than she had going out.

oOo

The rest of the day passed in an enjoyable blur. The four friends were actually joined later on in the day by Wanda and Jubilee and they spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around the city. By the time Kurt dropped Kitty and Marie off and waved to Evan as he crossed the street, he was sufficiently exhausted.

Entering his house he was met with his mother who was smiling, and seemingly waiting for him.

"And how was your day?"

"Great." He yawned, "I'm exhausted though. Think I have time for a nap before dinner?"

She nodded, "I'll wake you up in an hour or so."

"Deal." he grinned at his mom and went upstairs where he showered, changed into a fresh pair of jeans and a t-shirt and curled up on his bed, falling asleep in seconds.

Downstairs, Raven relaxed, she'd been worried Kurt's surprise would be spoiled before she was finished getting it ready. She finished bustling around the house, tidying things up and setting the table in the dining room for five.

oOo

Kurt actually woke up as his mother entered his room. He greeted her with a sleepy smile.

"Hey mom."

She smiled happily, "You ready?"

He got a confused expression on his face, "For what?"

She smiled happily, "Come downstairs."

Still confused, Kurt followed her downstairs and froze just before he entered the living room.

Sitting on the couch were two people he hadn't seen in years, yet they hadn't changed at all.

The man was tall, had dark hair shot through with silver and bright green eyes that held cunning and shone with laughter. Deep wrinkles lined his face and still, despite his obvious aging, he seemed to be in the prime of his life. The woman at his side was smaller, but still thin and had obviously been quite beautiful when she was younger. She was still quite lovely, having aged naturally with laugh lines crinkling the sides of her eyes along with a few wrinkles here and there. Her silver grey hair had once been blonde, but now that it was cut in a short, old-style bob, she looked gentle and wise. Her eyes were a bright hazel-gold and shone in her weather-worn face.

Kurt looked to his mother, obvious shock and joy on his face.

She smiled, "I called and, well, here they are."

His smile could've split his face in two as he hugged her tightly for a second before rushing into the room, much to the obvious surprise and delight of the two people there who hadn't seen him come down.

"Kurt!" his grandmother enveloped him in a hug, her familiar scent of honeysuckle and incense seeming to welcome him home.

"No, this isn't Kurt." The man denied, "Kurt is small and barely reaches my hip."

Kurt laughed and hugged his grandfather, "Sorry I grew up a bit."

"Well look at you, eh? Just look at you!" his grandmother seemed ecstatic, "You grew up into such a handsome boy. The girls must flock over you."

Kurt couldn't get the smile off his face as he sighed and hugged his long missed grandparents, "I personally only have my eyes on one girl Gran."

His grandfather chuckled, "Of course he's got a girlfriend, Lil. Would you expect anything else?"

Lily smiled, "Well it's been so long. Last time we saw him he still thought girls had cooties."

Kurt laughed and kissed her wrinkled cheek, "Aw I missed you guys."

"See, I told you Sam! You owe me twenty dollars."

His grandfather shook his head in dismay, "For once I'd like to win a bet against your old grandma."

Kurt wondered if his smile would ever leave, but then again if he had a reason to smile, did he _really_ want to lose the expression?

Nope. And he was plenty fine with that.

oOo

Raven watched the reunion with sad eyes. Her parents had missed so much of Kurt growing up because of her own selfishness and stupidity. She hoped this was a step toward making up for it, for all involved.

oOo

Kurt could've sworn the entire day had been a dream. Seeing his grandparents for the first time in years, having a birthday where he and his mom were getting along, spending the entire day with his best friends and girlfriend, it was more than he thought possible.

His hands behind his head and a relaxed smile on his face he stared up at his dark ceiling. His grandfather's snores could be heard from down the hall and he stifled a chuckle. He'd forgotten how similar he and his grandpa actually were, his mom hadn't been kidding when she said Kurt was more like her own father, than Azazel.

Even the thought of his imprisoned father couldn't ruin his good mood, and he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

oOo

A/N: Writing the interaction between Kurt and Ororo was something I've wanted to do for a long time, so I was glad to finally get that into one of my stories.

[1] Oddly enough, I wrote this part before Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland' came out. (speaking of which, I'm going to see it this weekend, I'm so excited!)

Read, review and show some love!


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